


These Twists and Turns of Fate

by CiciWeezil



Category: Big Hero 6 (2014), Meet the Robinsons (2007)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-23
Updated: 2018-07-04
Packaged: 2019-05-27 09:21:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 25,250
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15021533
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CiciWeezil/pseuds/CiciWeezil
Summary: Wilbur Robinson wanted to say everything was going right. Hiro Hamada wanted to say his life was starting to get better. But then they would be lying.





	1. Here I Am On My Own

**Author's Note:**

> This is a story I'm bringing over from my fanfiction.net account. I wrote it a few years ago and I keep it very close to my heart (it was a way for me to cope with my grandmother's declining health).
> 
> Back then, I was looking through the internet for a Big Hero 6 and Meet the Robinsons crossover fanfiction, and I found NOTHING. I was like, how could no one think a crossover between these two movies would be awesome? So I decided to write one myself. I hope you enjoy it! Special thanks to my beta reader and good friend, leahcar260.

Ding-dong!

Wilbur rolled over in his bed, checking the time. 3:43 AM. Who in the world would be ringing the doorbell at this time of night?

Ding-dong!

He groaned, wondering why Lefty wasn't answering the door.

Ding-dong!

That's right. Lefty was on vacation in the Caribbean.

Ding-dong!

Swift footsteps told Wilbur his father was headed for the door.

Ding-dong!

Against his better judgment, Wilbur rolled out of bed and shuffled down the hall after his father.

Ding-dong!

If this was Spike and Dmitri playing a prank on them...

Ding-

Cornelius Robinson yanked the door open before the last bell could finish. Wilbur walked up behind him, expecting Dmitri and Spike to be laughing in their flower pots. What he saw made his jaw drop.

The twins were both slumped over in their flower pots, sedation darts stuck in their necks. Wilbur scanned the front lawn for any sign of movement, but there was no evidence of anyone ever being there.

A hand on his shoulder made him turn to his father, who was looking down. Wilbur followed his gaze.

"What the?"

Lying on the stone step before them and lit by the dim porch light, was a body. Wilbur could see the masculine features on his face. He looked around 20, handsome, and his head was shaved. He was dressed in a dark muscle shirt and sweat pants.

It took Wilbur a moment to notice the slight rise and fall of the man's chest.

"He's alive!"

Cornelius knelt and checked his pulse. "Barely."

"I'll get Carl." Wilbur said, dashing away.

* * *

"Who do you think he is?"

"Where did he come from?"

"Have you checked the security footage?"

"Yes. It's been tampered with. Whoever brought him here doesn't want to be found."

"Thank goodness you answered the door, Cornelius. You and Wilbur probably saved his life."

Wilbur was only half listening to his parents and his grandma Lucy as he sat in front of his laptop. His father had set him to the task of cross referencing the missing persons lists from around the world, starting with Todayland. He had already checked the most likely lists. North America, Europe and East Asia. The man was of Caucasian and Asian descent, so it would make sense for him to be from those regions.

Sighing from his lack of success, he checked the time. It was 9:12 AM. He hadn't slept a wink since the mystery man had been found, and he didn't plan on sleeping until he finished his search.

He had found fifty men who matched the Caucasian-Asian description of their mystery man, but there was always a flaw. Some were too old, some were too young, and some had features that were obviously NOT him.

Wilbur was beginning to wonder if the man was the first human clone. Cloning whole humans was illegal, so his strange sudden appearance on their doorstep would make sense.

"What did the doctor say?" Franny asked.

"Well, he's in a coma and there's no way of knowing when he'll wake up." Cornelius explained.

Wilbur looked up at the unconscious man. A coma? The clone idea was fitting more and more. Human clones didn't have consciousness, and stayed in comatose states. At least, that's what the government had said when they'd made it illegal.

The mystery man was currently hooked up to an IV line and several monitors. Carl had set up the makeshift medical room in the guest room next to Wilbur's. Wilbur didn't mind. It wasn't like his new neighbor would make a ruckus.

His eyes returned to his computer screen to study the newest "matches" he had received. Still no luck.

He glanced at his father's screen across the room, which was running a DNA test. If the man was from North America, Europe, or Japan, then they would be able to identify him through the Genetic Database. Every living person in the United Nations, and those who traveled there from other countries, had their genetic code stored in the database. The DNA test made Wilbur's task seem pointless, but only if the test found a match.

Ding!

Cornelius read the results from his computer screen. "He's 19 years old, approximately. Of French and Japanese descent, no history of illness aside from pneumonia ten years ago, all shots up to date from the looks of his antibodies." He told the others. "He measured at about 5'9" and 135 lbs, underweight, even for a Japanese man."

"What's his name, though?" Franny inquired.

Cornelius sighed. "No match found. Whoever he is, he's never been to the UN before. Which is odd, considering he's Japanese, because Japan added their entire population to the database years ago."

"Maybe he's a clone." Wilbur muttered. Then he realized what he'd said and grimaced at his father.

Cornelius sighed again. "There's always the possibility."

"There's no one on the Missing Person's list that matches him either." Wilbur said.

"Well then, I suppose we'll have to wait until he wakes up, and then he can tell us who he is." Lucille said. She immediately began fluffing the comatose man's pillow, and straightened his blanket.

"Carl, I'll leave you in charge of his care. I want to know the moment he wakes up." Cornelius said. "Wilbur, you should go back to bed, or eat breakfast. You look like you're about to fall over."

"I'll just eat. There's no way I can fall asleep again." Wilbur said. "Good thing it's a Sunday. School would've started two hours ago."

Cornelius smiled at his son. "I'll see you in the lab later, then." Then he walked out. Franny followed, with Lucille and Wilbur behind her. Carl had saluted his creator and immediately begun to log all the stats from the monitors surrounding his new patient.

* * *

After some toast and eggs, Wilbur made his way to the glass dome that had been outfitted into a lab. For most of his life, Wilbur hadn't been allowed there, but that had changed a year ago. After an insane time traveling adventure, his father decided he was old enough to join him in his private lab.

Wilbur wasn't stupid. Actually, he was very smart. A genius, like his father. He could have gone to a school for the gifted, if he'd wanted to. Unfortunately, none of the nerd schools approved of sports, and Wilbur loved baseball just as much as he loved inventing. So he went to the regular public high school, and played on the baseball team, and was one of the best players in the league, though he never admitted it.

He tried to be modest as much as he could. Being the son of the "father of the future" wasn't all it was cracked up to be. Most of his classmates would tease him if he started talking about academics, and they hated it when he would excel at anything, including sports. Because he was so good, his teammates tolerated him so long as he didn't act smart. None of them wanted to be his friend, though.

So he was alone and friendless. He'd spent most of his public life hiding who he was. At home, he could be a baseball-loving inventor and not be judged. His room was littered with baseball memorabilia and technology. He'd come up with a few inventions of his own, most of them toys for kids. His father was proud anyways. And one year ago, he had moved some things aside and given Wilbur his own workstation in the lab. He couldn't have been happier.

He finally reached the lab, and entered. The sun lit the room through the glass dome. There was no need for artificial lighting at this time of day.

Cornelius Robinson was on the phone with someone, who must have been telling him good news because he was smiling. Wilbur waved at him and sat down at his desk. He immediately set to work with his current project: lightsabers. He'd spent the last month trying to find the perfect substance for real lightsabers. It had to be non-radioactive but powerful enough to slice through steel. It had to work like a lightsaber, too, with the blade dissipating when it was turned off. A plasma laser would be best, but controlling them wasn't exactly a piece of cake.

Wilbur was just pulling up the latest scientific journal on substantial light when his father finished the phone call, shouting, "Wilbur!", and startling him.

"You didn't tell me you were set to graduate this year!" His father said, unable to hold back his excitement.

"Oh, yeah. I took a bunch of classes online because I was bored and got all the credits I needed." More like, I wanted to get out of that hell hole as soon as and with as little contact with my classmates as possible. So I decided to graduate three years early.

"That's amazing!" His father exclaimed, scooping him up in a bear hug. "I'm so proud of you."

"Oh c'mon, Dad! You graduated when you were fourteen, too!"

"Yeah, but I wasn't the #1 baseball player in the state, now was I?" Cornelius set his son down gently, and clasped his shoulders. "You excel in so many ways, Will. I want you to know that."

Wilbur smiled at him, some of his loneliness disappearing. "Thanks, Dad."

"Anytime. We'll talk about a graduation party with your mother later, and since you're a senior, you should be keeping up with all the senior things at school. Your mom is going to want photos. Your grandfather will want you to have a class ring." Cornelius held up his own high school class ring from his desk. "Have you been looking at colleges?"

"Yeah, actually. I haven't found one I really wanted to go to though."

"Take your time. Finding the right school is important." Cornelius smiled at him. "One more hug." He squeezed him again, and this time Wilbur returned the embrace. "Congratulations, son."

The two of them let go and returned to their work. Around noon, Franny brought lunch and the three of them ate together. Cornelius, of course, told her about Wilbur's early graduation, and she was ecstatic. As his dad predicted, she asked him about senior portraits and cap and gown photos. Wilbur promised to do both.

At 6 o'clock, the fluorescents switched on, brightening the room as the sun went down. Wilbur stretched and took a gulp of coke, his caffeine hitch. His father rolled out from under one of his machines, a puzzled look on his face.

"I just don't get it. I've checked everything, but it won't work."

"Did you make sure the power button was hooked up to the power core?" Wilbur offered.

"Of course I d-" Cornelius paused and opened up the battery panel. "Didn't." He rewired the panel and flipped the switch, and it powered on. "What would I do without you?"

"Bang your head on the wall and curse yourself?"

Cornelius sighed. "You're not wrong."

Less than a half hour later, Franny called them down for dinner.

Cornelius asked about their coma patient, but Carl had no news for him. Wilbur frowned. He'd heard of comas lasting years, with some never waking up at all. It had only been a day, and Wilbur was already getting impatient.

Who was this guy?


	2. Making Wishes in the Dark

Wilbur tossed his duffel bag into his spacious closet. He'd pick it up later. His school bag was dropped onto his desk chair. He'd finish his homework later. It wouldn't be difficult. His teachers had assigned him three chapters of his physics book to read, a history essay, an anatomy project on the digestive system, three AP English essays on their current books, and several pages of math in both AP Stat and Calculus. Piece of cake.

Sighing, Wilbur stretched and left his room as quickly as he'd entered it. He wanted to check on the coma patient.

They still had no idea who he was. It had been four months since they'd taken him in and his condition had changed very little. His inky black hair had begun to grow back, and he'd regained some color in his complexion. Other than that, he was very much the same as the night they found him.

There was no one else in the room when Wilbur opened the door. He sat down in the chair next to the bed and studied the man. The question of his identity swam through his mind.

He had spent many nights wondering what the man would be like when he awoke. Would he remember who he was? Would he be thankful the Robinsons took him in? What sort of stories would he tell? Would he know what happened to him? Would he think Wilbur was a nerd and make fun of him like everyone else?

That last question made Wilbur flinch. He knew it was a possibility, but he hoped it wouldn't be true. He wanted the man to be friendly, to think Wilbur was cool and not nerdy or lame.

He wanted him to be his friend, more than his friend even. His brother. He'd always wanted an older brother. Someone who would protect him, share his interests, support him and help him not feel so lonely. As big as his family was, they were all way older than him and more interested in their own hobbies than their baby cousin.

His father gave him as much attention as he could, but it wasn't the same as having someone closer to his age. Someone like the comatose man before him. The DNA test had shown he was about 19. Five years was the perfect age difference between two brothers.

Wilbur stopped himself. It was pointless to think about things like that. This man probably had his own family somewhere, people who missed him terribly. Maybe he already had a little brother. Either way, Wilbur was an only child and he knew he always would be.

The fourteen year old sighed and rested his hand on the bed rail. He checked to make sure the room was empty, and listened for any footsteps.

Nothing. Good.

"Um...I don't really know how this is supposed to work, but I read that people in comas can hear everything going on around them. Apparently talking to you is good for you." Wilbur felt stupid for talking to someone who couldn't talk back. "I don't know if it's true but I need someone to talk to, and you need to get better, so it's a win-win. First of all, my name is Wilbur Robinson. My dad is a famous inventor. Maybe you've heard of him? Anyways, I'm 14 and I'm going to graduate high school in May. It's December, by the way. Christmas is next week. I wonder if you celebrate Christmas? I guess it doesn't matter, really.

"Where was I? Oh yeah, so everyone at school hates me because I'm too smart and too good at everything. I love baseball and I'm pretty good at it, but my classmates don't care because they think I'm a show-off. I don't have any friends and I probably should have told my dad that but he's got enough on his plate. Being the 'father of the future' isn't exactly easy, you know? I don't want him to worry about me. It's not like they ever physically hurt me. It's all verbal. They wouldn't touch me because they know my dad's important and stuff and they're scared of that.

"But their words still hurt, you know? I wish there was just one person who would step up and say I wasn't a nerd or a dork because I know I'm not, but no one says it. The teachers don't notice either, except my physics teacher. I spend my lunch times with him because he's nice to me and makes the other kids leave me alone. We spend all our time talking about physics and science and stuff, which is a lot of fun but it sucks because I wish I could have that sort of conversation with someone my own age." Wilbur took a breath. "Anyway, thanks for listening, Nemo. I'm going to call you that until we know who you are. I hope you don't mind."

With that, Wilbur fell silent. He didn't get up. His mother would call him to dinner soon so he just sat there next to the man he'd dubbed Nemo and mentally slapped himself for telling a complete stranger all his secrets, coma or no coma.

Outside the door, standing stock-still, Cornelius Robinson felt a tear streak down his cheek. He'd heard everything his son had just said and cursed himself for having not noticed his son's pain. He wanted to run into the room and hug his son and tell him everything would be alright, that he was there for him, but he knew that that wasn't what Wilbur would want. He'd be embarrassed or angry, or both, that his father had heard him. He decided not to say anything. He suddenly knew why his son wanted to graduate early. He was trying to get out of his situation. He was solving his problem on his own and Cornelius didn't need to interfere.

College will be better for him, Cornelius thought to himself. He'll make tons of friends in college, just like I did. He thought about his closest friend, Alistair Krei, who he'd met in his second year of college. They'd both gone on to build their own companies, and together they had shaped the world. Perhaps Wilbur would make a lifelong friend in college, too.

With that cheerier thought in his head, Cornelius quietly walked away from the door. It was dinner time, after all.

* * *

"That was sick." Said a robotic voice.

"Yeah, it was, Baymax." The shaggy haired 14-year-old was busy replacing the discs in the movie player.

"What are we going to watch next?" Asked Wasabi.

"Iron Man!" Fred shouted, throwing both arms up. On either side of him, Honey Lemon and Gogo cringed away from his underarm stench.

"Do you have anything other than superhero movies?" Gogo asked, pinching her nose.

"Dude, there is no better movie than a superhero movie." Fred said, getting up for a soda. "But if not Iron Man, then Batman."

"What's Batman?" Wasabi asked.

Fred paused. "Oh, wait. I meant Spiderman."

There was a collective murmur of recognition.

"Why don't we watch one of the movies I brought?" Honey offered.

"You brought movies?" Wasabi leaned forward as Honey pulled out a stack of movies from her purse.

"Woah, Antz!" Fred said. Gogo gave him a strange look. "A Bug's Life, I mean. Great movie."

"Ooh! I love this one!" Wasabi said, holding up a case.

"Kimba!" Fred shouted.

"The Lion King." Gogo corrected him. "Where are you getting all these weird names from?"

"Ehhh, my head." Fred said dramatically. The others shrugged and decided on The Lion King.

Hiro put the disc in its slot and sat down on the floor in front of Honey. He couldn't focus on the movie. His thoughts were on the past few months. The expo, his brother, Callaghan, Tadashi, Big Hero 6, Nii-chan. Tears flooded Hiro's eyes and he was thankful they'd chosen such a sad movie. Honey and Wasabi were both crying, too, so no one questioned him. He had a feeling Baymax was watching him instead of the movie, though.

Baymax. Nii-chan's invention. The personal healthcare companion. Would Tadashi approve of Baymax being a superhero instead of his actual intentions?

Did it even matter what Tadashi would approve of?

Always. It always mattered what Tadashi would think, Hiro decided. He was dead, but that didn't mean his ideas were. Hiro wanted to think his brother would be proud. After defeating Callaghan, he and his friends had spent the last two months stopping criminals in the city. They had sort of become superheroes in San Fransokyo, and thankfully no one knew their identities, because they were very popular among the people. It was becoming increasingly difficult to get away without their faces being seen by the crowd. Honey had even taken to wearing contacts when she had her armor on, because her glasses were so iconic. They'd thought Baymax would be an issue, but apparently no one recognized him without his armor on.

It had taken awhile for Aunt Cass to approve of Hiro's crime-fighting, but she knew it was better than bot fights. At least it wasn't shady, and he had his friends to help him.

The movie was over sooner than Hiro expected. He blinked when Fred flipped on the lights and stood up to stretch. Wasabi joined him and clapped him on the back.

"Well, the little dude and I better get going." Wasabi said. "Aunt Cass told me he has to be home by midnight and it's already 11:15."

"Yeah." Honey yawned. "I better get home, too. Have to get up early in the morning."

"Same here." Gogo looked too tired to even blow her bubble gum.

"Alright, see you dudes later, then." Fred said.

They all said another round of goodbye's and went their separate ways.

Wasabi parallel-parked perfectly outside the cafe at precisely 11:59. "See you, Hiro, Baymax." He said as his two passengers climbed out of his car.

"Thanks for the ride, Wasabi."

"Anytime."

Wasabi waited for Hiro and Baymax to enter the cafe before driving away. Hiro climbed up the stairs, exhausted.

"You stayed up too late, Hiro. You need a full 8 hours sleep as an adolescent." Baymax said when Hiro collapsed on his bed.

"Baymax, I am satisfied with my care." Hiro said.

Baymax bid him goodnight and stepped onto his charger, deflated, and folded up into his luggage.

Hiro sighed and slipped under his covers, sleep catching him fairly quickly.

* * *

Hiro didn't want to get up. He didn't want to face today. Tomorrow. He'd get up tomorrow, but definitely not today. Today wouldn't be the same without his nii-chan.

"Do you think he's awake?" Hiro heard a voice say. Another voice shushed them.

He groaned inwardly. Apparently his friends weren't going to let him ignore today.

"Ready?" Someone started counting backwards from 3.

Hiro braced himself.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" Several voices shouted together. Hiro sat up reluctantly and saw Wasabi, Gogo, Honey, Fred, Aunt Cass, and Baymax (when did he reactivate?) surrounding his bed. Checking the time, he noticed it was 8:10. Too early. Weren't people allowed to sleep in on their birthday?

Everyone began giving him well wishes and hugs and asking him what he wanted for his birthday. Hiro didn't answer them. He knew what he wanted. But he would never have it again.

"Thanks, everyone. I'll be downstairs in a few minutes." Hiro told them. Everyone except Baymax gave him one last hug and headed downstairs, probably to finish preparing for the inevitable party. Judging by the scents wafting into his room, Wasabi and Honey had made a cake.

Hiro climbed out of bed and went straight to the bathroom. He took his time getting dressed and attempting to tame his wild mane.

"Your neurotransmitters are low, Hiro." Baymax commented as Hiro returned to the room. "Perhaps this party will elevate them."

"I doubt that, Baymax." Hiro told him. "Just don't talk about my health to anyone else today, alright? They don't need to worry."

"I do not understand, but I will do as you wish." Baymax said. "I still believe this party will be good for you."

"Yeah, sure." Hiro replied, and headed down the stairs, putting on his happiest expression.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I couldn't resist writing Fred as a Cloud Cuckoo Lander. It's supposed to be a joke that non-Disney movies don't exist in their universe. However, in a later event, we see a non-Disney character so I contradict myself. Good thing this isn't canon.


	3. Dying on Top of the World

"Hey, Robinson!"

Wilbur froze. Then he slammed his locker closed, locked it, and was about to walk away, when a hand landed on his shoulder.

"I'm talking to you, Robinson!"

"Sorry, I didn't hear you, Michael." Wilbur said nervously.

"What was that, Nerd?"

"Nothing. I-I have to go." Wilbur tried to pull away, but Michael gripped his shoulder painfully.

"You owe me, Robinson."

"For what?" Wilbur finally met his cruel eyes. He noticed Michael was alone.

"You got my friends expelled."

"I didn't do anything."

"Oh really? Then what did they get expelled for, Shrimp?"

"I-I don't know. I had nothing to do with it."

"Someone told the principal they'd been smoking weed out by the field house."

"It wasn't me."

"I don't believe you."

Wilbur braced himself as Michael pulled back his fist.

"Ah, there you are, Wilbur!" Said a loud voice.

The hand on his shoulder released him. Wilbur looked past Michael's large head to see his physics teacher headed towards them.

"Mr. Curtis, don't you have somewhere to be?" Mr. Sabiri eyed him suspiciously.

"Uh, yeah. I was just…asking Wilbur about our math homework."

"Move along then."

Michael nearly ran down the hall away from them.

"Let's go to my classroom." Mr. Sabiri motioned for Wilbur to follow him.

Wilbur stayed silent as they entered his classroom.

"You told me they never tried to hit you."

"That was the first time."

"If anyone ever hurts you, you need to tell someone." Mr. Sabiri said. "How is your shoulder?"

"It's fine. I don't think it will bruise." Wilbur said.

"You know I have to report this, right? I'm a teacher and I witnessed him about to punch you."

Wilbur nodded. He wasn't sure what to say.

"And if the principal or the police ask you anything about this incident or previous ones, you'll tell the truth."

"Yes, sir." Wilbur looked him in the eyes to prove he wasn't lying.

Mr. Sabiri smiled at his prize student.

"Well, Wilbur, as your mentor, I have to talk to you about your future." Mr. Sabiri sat down behind his desk. He pulled out his lunch bag and emptied it of its contents. "Did you bring your lunch again?"

"Yeah, I've got it here." Wilbur retrieved a sandwich, a bag of chips, a sports drink, and a baggie of cookies and took his place opposite his teacher.

"Well, I think you've broken a new record." He told the boy. "You only needed twenty-four credits to graduate, and you have thirty-one." He leaned back in chair. "Not to mention you did it in less than a year."

Wilbur took a bite of his sandwich. Mr. Sabiri was mixing dressing into his salad. He was quite young for someone with a Master's degree, in his late twenties at the most. He was also very reserved about himself, and even Wilbur, who'd spent the better part of his short high school career in his presence, felt he hardly knew the man. His Arab appearance was something of a controversy, even though the wars in the Middle East had ended years ago. Wilbur had heard more than one racial slur directed towards Mr. Sabiri, but the physics teacher didn't seem to mind. He was rather nonchalant about it. When Wilbur had asked him how he dealt with the rude comments, Mr. Sabiri had told him he'd learned long ago that the people whose opinions mattered were the ones who didn't have an opinion. Wilbur wasn't sure he completely understood what he'd meant.

"It really is remarkable." Mr. Sabiri was saying. "So, have you thought about what colleges you might go to?"

"Um… yes, but I haven't found one I'm interested in." Wilbur repeated the words he'd told his father three months ago.

"Hmm…You graduate in two months. You haven't applied to any college?" Mr. Sabiri absently stirred his salad with his fork. "If you want to go, you've got to get to work. I know your age may seem like a barrier but your abilities make up for it."

"I know…I just want to continue playing baseball, but I also want to continue my studies in science." Wilbur told him.

"I'm sure there's one that focuses on sports and academics." Mr. Sabiri said. "How far from home are you willing to go?"

"I don't think it matters. I was looking at some schools in Italy and England, because they're both beautiful countries. I even considered going to one of the CERN recommended universities, but baseball isn't very popular in Europe so none of the good schools have a team." He paused. "I know I may be a little too focused on baseball, but-"

"Nonsense." Mr. Sabiri took a gulp of his orange soda. "Everyone has specific things they're looking for in a school. Having those ideas in mind can help you narrow down the list."

Wilbur was silent for a moment, fumbling with his chips bag. Then he had a thought. "What college did you go to, sir?"

"Croswell University." Mr. Sabiri said. "A very average college. It has a baseball team, but not the academic level you're looking for."

Wilbur frowned, finishing his sandwich.

"If you want, I can help you search for colleges." Mr. Sabiri cleaned up his lunch. "You should apply somewhere before the end of the month to ensure you get a spot at the college you choose."

Wilbur nodded. "Thanks, Mr. Sabiri."

The bell rang at that moment, and students began pouring into Mr. Sabiri's classroom. Wilbur stood up, waved goodbye to his teacher, and darted out of the room to his next class.

* * *

It was already past dinner time when Cornelius and Wilbur arrived home. Baseball practice had gone extremely late, as they were playing their rival team the next day. The two of them climbed out of the car and went to their rooms to change into more comfortable clothing.

Wilbur took a quick shower in his en-suite bathroom, and put on one of the new t-shirts his mother had bought him, along with his favorite jeans. Then he went to Nemo's room.

Surprisingly, everyone had followed suit when Wilbur first began calling the coma patient Nemo. Most of his family understood that it was a name for someone with no name, but that idea seemed to be lost on Laszlo, who'd painted a clown fish above Nemo's bed. Tallulah had followed up by decorating the room in an ocean theme. It wasn't really what Wilbur had been going for, but he had to agree that the decorations made the room livelier.

Wilbur slumped into the chair beside Nemo's bed. He'd continued talking to him whenever he was alone in the room, but today he had no words. He was too exhausted to speak.

Carl came in and recorded the readings on the monitors. He said something but Wilbur wasn't listening. After a few minutes, a tray of food was shoved in his face.

"Hey, little buddy." Carl said. "I asked you if you were hungry but you didn't answer, so I brought you dinner anyways."

"Thanks, Carl. I guess I'm just tired. It's been a long week." Wilbur took the tray and set it on the bedside table. To please his robot friend, he picked up the fork and stabbed a piece of steak, which Carl had pre-cut for him. He chewed slowly, not really tasting the meat, even though it was one of his favorites.

"I've got to run a few errands around the house, but I'll be back in a little while." He heard Carl's metallic footsteps fade away down the hall.

Wilbur leaned back and closed his eyes, heaving a sigh.

"Heee" A low voice moaned. "Rooooh"

Wilbur opened his eyes and turned to Nemo in shock. Did that noise come from him? He watched the unconscious man closely.

"Heee-rooooh…."

Wilbur tried to discern what he was saying, moving closer to Nemo's face.

"Noooo….."

Did coma patients usually talk? He wondered.

"Heee-roooh…."

Maybe he should say something back? What was it he was saying, anyways?

"Heee-roooh…"

Wilbur leaned over him and whispered. "Hey, it's alright. Everything's gonna be okay." He wasn't sure what else to say. What did you tell a man who was slowly waking up from a coma? Was he even waking up at all?

The man seemed to have heard him as he stopped moaning. Then, miraculously, his face twitched. He slowly opened his eyes to reveal two ebony irises, both unfocused for the moment.

"Hee-roooh." Nemo whispered. Wilbur suddenly realized that whatever he was saying was a name. The man's eyes seemed to focus a second later and he stared Wilbur, who stared back.

"Um…Hello…" Wilbur said nervously, wondering if the man remembered all the things he'd said in the past three months.

"W-water." The man croaked.

"Oh! Sorry, just a moment." He ran to the water dispenser on the other side of the room and poured some into a paper cup for the man. He walked back, being careful not to spill any, and held the cup to Nemo's lips.

Nemo gave him a grateful look before he drank the whole cup. After a few more refills, his thirst seemed to be quenched.

"Where am I?" He asked, his voice clearer. "Who are you?

"Uh, I'm Wilbur Robinson. And you're at my house, or my dad's house, really." Wilbur explained.

"Robinson…" The man repeated the word as though he recognized it. He looked around the room, puzzled but somewhat bemused.

"Oh, my cousins decorated the room for you. I told them not to but it's hard to dissuade anyone in my family." Wilbur knew he was rambling, but he wasn't sure what to do. Then he remembered his father telling Carl something. His dad wanted to know when Nemo woke up. Wilbur pulled out his phone and texted his dad, and for good measure, Carl.

"I like it." The man said. "I've always loved the beach."

"What? Oh yeah. That's good." Wilbur replied.

"How did I get here?" The man asked.

"Um, well. Why don't we wait for my dad to get here and he can explain everything." Wilbur hoped the man would be alright with that. He seemed nice enough, but he'd just woken up.

Thankfully, he nodded. "Can I have some more water?" Wilbur got him another cup, which the man took himself and sipped.

He continued to look around the room, taking in his surroundings, until his eyes fell on Wilbur, who felt somewhat self-conscious. It took a moment before he realized that Nemo was staring at his shirt.

"Who are those people?"

"Oh, they're Big Hero 6. No one knows who they are, but they're these six superheroes in San Fransokyo who fight crime. They're real superheroes, not just comic books or movies. They cropped up only a few months ago and they're already really popular."

"San Fransokyo?" The man repeated. "They look like…"

Before he could finish his sentence, the door burst open. Cornelius, Carl, Franny and Lucille Robinson all filed into the room.

"Oh! He's awake!" Lucille chorused. "How do you feel, young man?"

"Don't smother him, Mom." Cornelius teased.

"Cornelius Robinson." Nemo said.

Cornelius turned to the man on the bed, surprised he knew his name. "Yes, that's me."

"I know."

"I suppose you've met Wilbur already?" Cornelius said. "This is my wife, Franny. My mother, Lucille, and my friend, Carl."

"A robot?" The man quirked an eyebrow. "Cool." He looked around the room again, as though searching for someone. "Why am I here?"

"You've been in a coma for seven months." Cornelius told him, watching the man's eyes widen. "Now that you're awake, I have to ask you a few questions. To test you memory."

The man nodded.

"First, what is your name?"

"Tadashi Hamada."


	4. Comparing Your Past to My Future

Hiro watched the 3D printer work its magic out of boredom.

"Your neurotransmitters are down again, Hiro." Baymax said. "Though not as low as they were on your birthday."

"I'm not feeling bad, Baymax. I'm just bored."

"Perhaps you should find a new project to engage your mind. The brain needs exercise as much as the body."

"I upgraded your suit three days ago, and I finished the new microbots last week." Hiro turned to Baymax. "What other project is there?"

"Find a new angle." Baymax said simply.

Hiro stared at him.

"Is that not what Tadashi would say?"

Hiro continued to stare at him. Baymax was definitely developing a personality. Whether it was his own, or a ghost of his brother's, was a mystery.

"Yes, Baymax." Hiro said quietly. "That is what Tadashi would say."

Baymax said nothing, and Hiro didn't find anything to fill the silence. His friends were all busy with their own projects. Except Fred, who was probably asking Wasabi for some crazy science fiction device or eating a sandwich.

Hiro needed something to do. Something to take up his thoughts. The sudden reminder of Tadashi wasn't helping. Thanks a lot, Baymax, Hiro thought.

Tadashi. He'd invented Baymax. He'd written all the coding for him, designed him with the greatest of care. His life's work. Baymax.

But not all his work, Hiro thought. He sat up in his chair and rolled across the room to his brother's computer.

"Did you have a new idea?" Baymax asked.

"Tadashi." Hiro said. "He must have had other projects besides you. Maybe I can continue them."

Baymax plodded up behind him. "Your neurotransmitters are elevating. The treatment is working."

"There's already improvement?" Hiro logged into the computer and opened Tadashi's files. Just as he thought, there was a number of unfinished projects, all neatly organized and numbered by priority. 1. BAYMAX was the first file, and by far the largest. Hiro skipped it and began clicking through the rest, one by one.

Tadashi was ingenious and kind. Every one of his projects were meant to help people. Hiro smiled, wondering which one he should start with. He decided on the file below Baymax's.

"Well, Baymax, it's time to get to work."

* * *

Cornelius tried to hide his shock, and refrained from glancing at the others. He kept his eyes on the man before him. The man who had just told him his name was Tadashi Hamada.

How is that even possible? Cornelius wondered. Regardless, he kept a straight face and looked down at his clipboard.

"Good. So, Tadashi, how old are you?" Cornelius moved on to the next question as though he hadn't just seen a ghost.

"Uh…what's the date?" Tadashi asked. "Can I sit up?" Carl pressed a button next to the bed that lifted up the top half of the bed. "Thanks."

"March 16." Cornelius said.

"Then I'm 19." Tadashi said. "My birthday was in January."

"And where are you from?"

"San Fransokyo."

"Your parent's names?"

"Hiroki and Diane Hamada."

"Your aunt's name?"

"Cassandra Fortier."

"Your brother's name?"

There was a pause.

"Hiro." Tadashi's expression turned sad.

"You'll be able to see your family soon." Cornelius reassured him.

"Why am I all the way in Todayland?" Tadashi asked. "Why aren't I in a hospital? And how did I fall into a coma? Was it from the fire?" His eyes pleaded for answers.

For a minute, the room was very quiet. Finally, Cornelius made a decision.

"The fire," He said slowly. "Did not cause your coma. As you can probably tell, you don't have any burns or injuries that fires and explosions are known to cause. In fact, you are in perfect help, with the exception of just waking up from a coma." Cornelius took a breath. "We don't know why you were in a coma, or how you survived the fire at the expo. What we do know is that the fire was not an accident."

"Not an accident?" Tadashi stared at him in confusion. "That fire killed Professor Callaghan, and you're telling me someone did it on purpose?"

"Well, that's the part you may not take well." Cornelius ran a hand through his cowlick. "Professor Callaghan started the fire."

Tadashi gaped at him.

"He was trying to fake his own death, and steal your brother's invention." Cornelius hoped Tadashi didn't ask for too many details, as he only knew what he'd read in the news reports and what Alistair Krei had told him.

"Hiro's microbots?"

"Yes." Cornelius said. "Because of the strange circumstances behind your survival, your family decided to hide you somewhere. SFIT convinced them that hiding you with us, the Robinsons, would be best. We had the money and means to care for you in your comatose state, and the authority to do so with little intervention from the government."

Tadashi looked down at his hands. "My family sent me away?"

"For your own safety." Cornelius placed a hand on his shoulder.

"When will I be able to see them again?" Tadashi asked.

"I will be contacting them as soon as I'm sure you're well." Cornelius felt terrible for lying to the brilliant boy in front of him, but he couldn't tell him the truth just yet. Not until he knew he was mentally stable, and that his family would see him. They may not even believe he was alive.

"How long will that take?"

Did he ever stop asking questions? "A couple of weeks, at the most. I've still got some memory tests, and we have to be absolutely positive this isn't a false alarm. We don't want you falling back into the coma."

"I have to do rehab, too, don't I?" Tadashi asked. "Learn to walk again, regain my motor skills."

"That too. I'm sure you don't want to look like a weakling to your little brother." Cornelius wasn't sure he was familiar enough with the young man to make jokes concerning his brother, but he had to lighten the atmosphere somehow.

Luckily Tadashi gave him a small smile.

"So, you must be hungry, right?" Carl asked.

"Starving." Tadashi replied.

"Hunger is good. You haven't lost your appetite." Cornelius made a note on his keyboard. "I'll have a friend of mine from Todayland General give you a checkup tomorrow."

"You weren't doing too bad." Tadashi took a sip of water.

"Thanks. We'll let you rest for awhile. Carl will bring up some food, and we can start your rehab in the morning. The sooner the better." Cornelius then led his family out of the room and down the hallway.

Once they were in the dining room, the largest room in the house, Cornelius called all of the family members for a meeting.

Wilbur sat on his father's right at the head of the table, across from his mother. The family members all filed in quickly. The usual chatter was silenced with one glance at their patriarch's face. They knew it was a serious matter.

"Thank you all for coming so quickly. I've got good news and bad news." Cornelius began. "First, our coma patient has woken up."

"But?" Bud questioned.

"But his identity…is not what we suspected." He glanced at the clock. "Do you all remember the incident in San Fransokyo? The fire at the expo, and Callaghan faking his death? Then trying to destroy Krei's new school?"

There was a series of nods around the room.

"Well, there was another supposed death at the expo fire."

"You mean Tadashi Hamada?" Bud asked.

"Yes. He's alive and eating dinner in our guest bedroom."

Wilbur watched the exchange of shocked expressions.

"I made an executive decision." Cornelius continued. "I decided not to tell him he's supposed to be dead, at least not in the sense that he has a death certificate and his family has been mourning for him these past few months."

"Why not?" Asked Tallulah.

"We don't want to stress him or cause a mental breakdown. We don't yet know how stable he is. He's going to be angry when he finds out the truth, and believe me, I will tell him before I bring his family here, but for now he's better off not knowing."

The Robinsons nodded in agreement.

"Cornelius, do you know him personally?" Franny asked. "He seemed to know you when you walked into his room."

"We've met several times at science expositions and conferences. I can't believe I didn't recognize him immediately when I saw him. I was even regretting at the time that I wouldn't make it to his funeral, and here he is, under our roof this whole time." Cornelius held his head in his hands.

"It could happen to anyone, Dad." Wilbur patted his arm.

Cornelius nodded to his son and continued. "Where was I? Oh, right. Tadashi is aware of the fact that he should have died in the fire, and that Callaghan caused it and stole his brother's microbots, but he doesn't know that he is officially dead."

"So we just pretend his aunt and his brother sent him here?" Wilbur said. "I suppose that has fewer holes than telling him that he mysteriously appeared on our door step, barely alive and not include that he's supposed to be dead."

"Exactly." Cornelius nodded. "Besides that, I'd like to investigate Callaghan a little more. I'll be straight with all of you. I think Callaghan is the one who left him here."

Everyone except Wilbur seemed shocked by this.

"It would make sense." Wilbur reasoned. "He would have the means to, with the microbots and his access to fast transportation. He could have gotten Tadashi out of the fire and to safety in no time, and then he would have induced a coma and wiped any memories after he ran into the burning building for good measure, in case he woke up too early." Wilbur thought for a moment, his family listening intently. "He would have wanted to get him as far away from San Fransokyo as possible. So the east coast was best without leaving the country. He needed to leave him with someone he could trust would take care of him, assuming that he didn't want him dead, which is obvious by the fact that he didn't simply leave him in the fire to die. He saved his life, so he left him with the most trustworthy and powerful man on the east coast. You." Wilbur finished his spiel, and glanced around at his family.

"You," Gaston said. "Are definitely your father's son."

Wilbur and Cornelius smiled at each other. Then a phone rang.


	5. Let Your Troubles Fall Behind You

Cornelius picked up his phone in confusion. It was his personal phone, and all the people who normally called his personal phone were sitting in the room with him. So who was calling?

"Hello, Cornelius Robinson." He said after bringing the phone to his ear.

"Hello, this is James Hertz, the principal at Todayland Public High School. I'm calling about your son, Wilbur. I've been receiving reports from teachers and some students that your son is, for lack of a better word, being bullied."

Cornelius stood up from his chair, signing to the others that he needed a moment, and left the room.

"What sort of reports?" He asked. "And why wasn't I told earlier?"

"Before today, we were handling it ourselves as constituted by the school laws. I have five reports of verbal abuse directed towards your son by students, and witnessed by four teachers and one student. Today, however, a teacher reported witnessing the first incident of physical abuse."

"Someone hit him?"

"Nearly. The teacher was able to stop it, and the bullying student has since been disciplined. I assure you, we are doing everything we can to protect your child. Has he mentioned the bullying to you before?"

"No, he hasn't." That was true. "I had no idea." That wasn't true, but he wasn't going to admit eavesdropping on his son. He respected the boy's privacy.

"I hope I haven't caused any issues at home. I only wanted to make you aware of the situation at school." Mr. Hertz told him.

"It's not your fault. I'm not angry with you or with Wilbur. I'm just worried." Cornelius said. "Does he have anyone at school he can talk to? A classmate or a teacher?"

"He does have his mentor, Mr. Sabiri, who witnessed and stopped the incident today. Wilbur spends his lunches there."

"That's good. I'm glad he's not totally alone."

"As am I, Mr. Robinson. Your son is a brilliant student. I wish I had the honor of being his principal for more than just a year, but it's probably best that he graduate so early."

"Because of the bullying, you mean?"

"Unfortunately, that is exactly what I mean." Mr. Hertz paused a moment. "The faculty and I will do our best to prevent any further incidents and keep him separated from the students involved. I will keep in touch."

"Thank you, Mr. Hertz."

"Not a problem, Mr. Robinson. Have a good evening."

Cornelius ended the call and stood there in the hallway a moment. Then he returned to the dining room. Wilbur didn't show any sign of knowing what the phone call had been about, so Cornelius decided to have a private conversation with him and his wife after the family meeting.

"So, any questions about Tadashi?"

Wilbur spoke up. "He asked me about Big Hero 6, because he saw them on my t-shirt." Wilbur motioned to the graphic on his chest. "Do you know anything about them?"

"Actually, I do. Alistair told me that the group who saved his life during the battle at Krei Tech was led by Tadashi's younger brother, Hiro." Cornelius said, still searching his son's face for any sign of pain or loneliness.

"So, are we allowed to tell him about his little brother's crime-fighting streak?" Nothing. His son had a good poker face.

"I don't see why not. It might bother him at first but I'm sure he'll recognize the others in the group, including the strange robot." Cornelius said.

"Cool." Wilbur seemed satisfied and turned to a plate of food that Carl had probably given him. Had he not eaten dinner? Cornelius wondered.

"Well then, that's all I had to say. Since we're here, does anyone have any other concerns or thoughts?"

Everyone shook their heads and started to stand up. Cornelius turned to his son and wife and motioned for them to follow him.

* * *

"Wasabi! On your left!" Hiro directed. He watched Wasabi swing to the right.

"Your other left!" Gogo shouted.

"I'm left handed, you guys! I get confused with directions very easily!" Wasabi's hand made contact with a face in the dark, and Wasabi could only hope it was the right one.

"Stop whining! Woman up!"

"FEAR MY FLAMES!" Fred jumped out from behind a wall and shot a stream of flames upwards, lighting up the alley.

"Fred! That is not what you were supposed to do!" Wasabi spazzed.

"It's really not…" Honey said, pulling out a bubblegum bomb and trapping the thief's legs.

"But that was way more dramatic!"

"This isn't a movie, lizard-head. It's real life!" Gogo removed her wheels from her limbs and returned them to her back.

"Hey, guys, we caught him anyways." Hiro said.

"You heart rates are all accelerated. Might I suggest taking deep breaths to slow your breathing?"

"We're good, Baymax." Hiro said, patting the robot's armor. "Let's head back to the café. Aunt Cass said she has a big meal planned."

"Free food! I love you aunt!" Fred shouted as they handed the criminal over to the cops arriving on the scene and disappeared into the dark before the paparazzi arrived.

* * *

Wilbur had no idea why his father was leading him and his mother to the lab. He knew it was the most private place in the house. So his dad wanted to speak to them privately. What about? Then it hit him. The phone call. The incident with Michael at school. Mr. Sabiri had told Wilbur he would report it, but he hadn't realized it would involve a call from the school. Had Mr. Sabiri called his dad? Or the principal? Or was it the police? Either way, his father would be upset with him for not telling him about the bullying.

They finally reached the lab, and Wilbur sat down in the chair his father motioned to.

"Franny, that phone call earlier," Cornelius began. "It was from Wilbur's principal."

Franny glanced between her worried husband and guilty-looking son.

"He's not in trouble." Cornelius assured her. "Not the way you're thinking. Mr. Hertz called me to tell me there had been several incidents of bullying, directed at Wilbur, by other students. He said that up until now, it had all been verbal, but today another student tried to hit him."

"Tried to?" She turned back to her son.

"Mr. Sabiri stopped him and sent him away." Wilbur didn't meet their eyes.

"Son, you're not in trouble." Cornelius held out his hand, and Wilbur gave him his own. "Your mother and I don't want you to get hurt."

"I know. I'm sorry. I thought I could handle it by just ignoring it and staying away from them and…"

"Graduating early to get the hell out of there?" Cornelius offered.

Wilbur's eyes finally met his and his fingers tightened around his father's hand. He felt his mother stroke his hair. "Yes." He said quietly.

"I know you probably feel very alone right now, but that's normal for people who are like us." Cornelius said. "People who are different. And when you graduate high school and go off to bigger and better things, you'll find people with similar interests and intellects. You'll find friends."

"I don't even know what college I'm going to." Wilbur mumbled just loud enough for his parents to hear.

"Well, I know a young man who is a college student. I'm sure he can give you some advice." Cornelius released Wilbur's hand.

"Who?"

"Tadashi."


	6. Let Your Clarity Define You

"We're going to start old school, with a treadmill." Wilbur told Tadashi the next day. "You don't seem to have lost too much strength, judging by the fact that you've been getting up and pouring yourself water."

"I won't lie," Tadashi said. "It was a lot harder to walk than I thought it would be." He was sitting up in a chair already. The treadmill stood on the other side of the room. "I think my balance is off."

"You've been prone for seven months." Wilbur said, helping him over to the treadmill. "Of course your body will have a problem with a sudden change in positions."

"Good point." Tadashi was now holding himself up between the arms of the treadmill, on the unmoving conveyer belt.

"Lowest level, a gentle stroll through the park."

"Don't these usually have screens in front of them?"

"When you can walk all the way to the gym on your own, you can use the screen." Wilbur said as he pressed the start button. "Think of it as motivation."

"You're a good coach, you know that?" Tadashi grinned at him, and Wilbur couldn't help but grin back. He'd only officially met him yesterday, but they were already getting along great.

"I try."

"So, coach, since I don't have a lovely view of the park, why don't you tell me about the Big Hero 6?" Tadashi's breathing was getting a little heavier, but he didn't seem ready to quit just yet.

"Oh, them? They're pretty awesome." Wilbur pulled out his laptop and set it carefully in front of Tadashi, who continued his slow pace. He pulled up a picture of the six heroes. "You saw them on my shirt yesterday, but this has better resolution."

"Those are my friends!" Tadashi exclaimed. "And my little brother and… Baymax?"

"Um, yeah. My dad told me Hiro was the leader of the group, but I didn't know who the others were." Wilbur zoomed into their faces. "Who's Baymax?"

"I'll tell you later. I want to hear about my crime-fighting brother."

Wilbur shrugged. "From what I know, after the battle against Callaghan, the kids who defeated him decided to use their new abilities to help fight crime in San Fransokyo, and they're pretty good at it. Here's a video someone shot of a fight a month ago."

On the screen, six armored people were fighting two men who looked like robbers. They were no match for the heroes.

"So that's your brother. He doesn't seem to have any abilities in his suit except for hooking up to the big guy, but he makes up for it with his martial arts." Wilbur narrated the video as best he could. He didn't know the names of the others, but Tadashi did, so by the end of it, he had learned that lizard man was named Fred, Powder Bomb girl was Honey Lemon, Green Saber was Wasabi, and Speedy girl was Gogo Tomago. And that even those weren't their real names. Hiro rode on a robot named Baymax, an invention of Tadashi's.

The idea of a robotic personal healthcare companion appealed to Wilbur, and he was surprised to learn that the martial arts and armor had been upgrades by Hiro. Tadashi certainly hadn't done them. After the initial shock of learning that his little brother was fighting crime rather than battling in bot fights, Tadashi became enthusiastic about Big Hero 6 as well.

"I wonder if Hiro made me a suit. I bet there's one waiting for me when I get home." Tadashi said, a silly grin on his face. Wilbur refrained from commenting, knowing that the likelihood of Hiro making a suit for his "dead" brother was miniscule. "If he didn't, then I'll just make my own. He's not going to be crime fighting without me."

"Wow, thirty minutes on your first go!" Wilbur said as he check his stopwatch. "You do know you were in a coma yesterday, right? You don't have to be this good."

"Can't help it." Tadashi waited for Wilbur to press stop and began to climb off the treadmill. "I'm feeling pumped." Wilbur would have believed Tadashi was a miracle. That is, if he hadn't stumbled and nearly fell the moment he stepped off the treadmill.

"Don't worry. You'll get your balance back in no time." Wilbur assured him, leading him back to the chair by the window.

"I hope so. I was never a klutz before. That was always Hiro." Tadashi eased into the chair and looked up at Wilbur. "So your dad put you in charge of my rehab?"

Wilbur shrugged. "He said I've got experience with inspiring others." He said, remembering the events that had been set off by a bowler hat.

"Do you play any sports?" Tadashi asked.

"I play baseball, actually. It's my life." Wilbur said. "But I don't know if I'll be able to continue it when I graduate this year."

"How old are you?"

"Fourteen. My birthday is in September." Wilbur said.

"That's impressive. Didn't your dad graduate early, too?"

"Yeah, at fourteen."

"So did Hiro. And I graduated at fifteen."

"Really?" Wilbur glanced up at him. They'd both been staring out the window, watching the sun set.

"Mm-hmm." Tadashi smiled. "What makes you think you won't be able to play baseball in college?"

"I can't find a college with the academic level I need and a good baseball team." Wilbur explained.

"Really? Have you looked into SFIT?" Tadashi asked.

"Your school? Actually, I hadn't." Wilbur suddenly remembered his father mentioning that he should ask Tadashi about colleges, and realized why. San Fransokyo Technical Institute.

"It's got a great academic program, and the sports teams are great. I've been to the baseball games before and our team isn't half-bad."

"Do I just apply?"

"At first, yeah, but you also have to audition. You want to go into robotics and technology, right?"

"Yeah."

"Well, that expo I nearly died at is what you're going to have to enter." Wilbur was surprised that Tadashi could talk about his near death so nonchalant. "You have to enter an invention of your own creation, and if they like it, you're in."

"That's all?"

"It's harder than you might think." Tadashi said.

"I have a few projects I've been working on." Wilbur said. "I'm sure I can think of something that would be perfect. Thanks, Tadashi!"

"Glad I could help."

"Boys, it's dinner time!"

"Coming, mom!"

* * *

The next week seemed to fly by. Wilbur learned more and more about Tadashi as he helped him regain his muscular strength. And Tadashi learned more about Wilbur, as well. They soon became inseparable.

Tadashi was finally able to walk down to the gym, though he still couldn't tackle the stairs and seemed weary of the travel tubes, so they used the old elevator to get around.

Only a week in, Tadashi was running on flat ground. Wilbur congratulated him after his latest run, and wrote down the time and distance he'd gone.

"At this rate you'll be able to run on a mountain trail in a few days." Wilbur said.

"Great." Tadashi said, downing a bottle of water. "I feel more alive than ever."

Wilbur smirked. "Well, you were near dead for several months."

"Doesn't feel like it." Tadashi dried his face with the towel Wilbur threw at him.

"Well, you need a shower, and then we'll go up to the lab and I'll show you around." Wilbur said. The two of them trotted down the hall to the elevator.

"Really?" The older boy's face lit up. "I can't wait to see your projects. I'm sure they're really great."

"Take a shower and you'll find out." Wilbur pressed the button to go up at the door of the elevator. It opened immediately, and they stepped inside.

"What? Do I stink or something?" Tadashi joked.

"Only as bad as pig manure." Wilbur quipped.

"Ho-ho. I see how it is!" Tadashi strolled out of the elevator when it opened to their floor. "Wait until I get my full strength back, then we'll see who's rolling in manure."

"You'll have to catch me first, tough guy." Wilbur said, knowing he would probably regret those words later. "I run bases, remember?"

"I was on the track team in high school." Tadashi reminded him, reaching over and mussing up Wilbur's hair.

"And you're way out of practice." Wilbur batted Tadashi's arm away and fruitlessly attempted to fix his hair. Is this why Hiro's hair is such a mess? He wondered.

They had reached Tadashi's bedroom. Tadashi gave him a fist bump and they went their separate ways.

Half an hour later, Tadashi was waiting outside his door for Wilbur. He smelled much better, having washed off the sweat and gunk of his workout with peppermint scented shampoo.

They walked in companionable silence for a while. Every now and then, Tadashi would start to lose his balance and have to stop to regain his breath. But he kept going, with a determined look on his face.

The elevator took them only as far as the floor below the former observatory, so the rest of the way was up twenty steps.

"Do you think you're ready for this?" Wilbur asked his friend.

"As ready as I'll ever be."

They took one step at a time, Wilbur supported his left side, with an arm around Tadashi's waist, while Tadashi held onto the stair rail with his right arm. After what seemed like ages, they reached the top of the stairs, where they stopped so Tadashi could catch his breath.

"So, what's behind that door?" He said when he stopped wheezing.

"That," Wilbur said, resting a hand on the doorknob. "Is an excellent question."


	7. A Spark to Ignite

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leahcar260, thanks for beta reading this! if it sucks, my readers can blame you! Haha, just kidding.

Hiro stepped into the main lab cautiously, scanning the room for Gogo. He wasn't sure who in their right mind had given her the space just in front of the door as her workstation. His first few mornings in the lab consisted of near heart attacks as she zoomed by him on her test bike without warning the moment he stepped into the room.

Fortunately, Gogo's bike was mounted on its hangers, and Gogo herself was sitting at her desk, studying her latest suspension wheel.

Hiro heaved a sigh of relief and made his way to his own private lab, greeting his friends and fellow students. Baymax was already there, having stayed overnight in his charger.

"Morning, Baymax." Hiro said, turning on his computers.

"Good morning, Hiro." Baymax replied, stepping off his charger. "You seem to have slept well."

"Yeah, great." Hiro answered distractedly. He opened up his brother's project.

"Hey, little dude!" Fred's voice startled Hiro out of his own thoughts. He turned to the entrance of his lab, where Fred, Gogo, Honey and Wasabi were gathered.

"Hey, guys. What's up?" Hiro inquired. His friends rarely disturbed him in his private lab.

"Awesome news!" Fred said. "We've been invited to a famous inventor's private lab!"

"Actually," Gogo corrected. "Hiro, Honey, Wasabi and I have been invited." She motioned to Honey. "You only get to go because we're allowed to bring one guest each, and Honey decided to bring you."

"And that is why Honey is my favorite." Fred sat down in one of Hiro's desk chairs.

"What famous inventor?" Hiro asked.

"Cornelius Robinson." Wasabi replied. "Apparently he wanted to meet the best of the best from SFIT, and the school chose us. He's going to give us a tour of Todayland and his private lab."

"It's so exciting!" Honey squealed. "Did you know only four people are allowed in there besides himself? His son, wife, and parents are the only ones who've ever been in there!"

"Cornelius Robinson?" Hiro repeated, as though he hadn't heard Honey. "The Cornelius Robinson? The man everyone calls the 'Father of the Future?'"

"Yep, that's him." Gogo said.

"That is…" Hiro was speechless.

"Sick."

"What Baymax said."

* * *

"Has your jaw unhinged or are you trying to catch fruit flies?" Wilbur teased.

Tadashi closed his gaping mouth, but continued to stare in bewilderment at the sun lit room before him.

"This is amazing." He said simply. "Which ones are yours?"

"Most of these are my dad's, but I have a small collection over here, near my desk." Wilbur led him to his personal work area. "This is my latest project. I've been trying to figure out how to build a real lightsaber. But I can't get the blade right."

"Wow, that's awesome." Tadashi muttered. "Have you considered using magnets to control the laser?"

"Magnets?" Wilbur thought for a moment. "That actually might work."

"What's under that blanket?" Tadashi pointed across the room.

"Oh, my dad's first invention." Wilbur replied. He walked over to it.

"Woah…" Tadashi had no words when Wilbur uncovered it. "This is the famed memory scanner?"

"Yep. I think it still works but I don't want to touch it. It's my dad's pride and joy." Wilbur said, throwing the blanket back over the old machine.

"I understand." Tadashi turned away from it and carefully made his way back to his desk. "Have you thought about what you're going to present at the expo?"

"A lot, but I don't have any ideas." Wilbur offered Tadashi his desk chair, grabbed a spare for himself. "I don't think they'd go for the lightsaber, and a lot of my other inventions are children's toys."

"I'm sure you'll come up with something. You're a bright kid." Tadashi said, mussing Wilbur's hair again.

"I'm never going to have nice hair with you around, am I?" Wilbur sighed, trying in vain to tease his short locks back into place once again.

"I wouldn't count on it." Tadashi chuckled.

"Wilbur! Are you up there?"

"Yeah, Dad! I've got Tadashi here, too!" Wilbur called back.

His father opened the door a moment later, out of breath. "I've got great news! I contacted your family and they'll be here in a week!"

"You mean it?" Tadashi looked as though he wanted to jump for joy, if he had the strength for it.

"Yes! You're friends from the Institute are coming, too!"

"That's fantastic!" Tadashi exclaimed. "Thank you so much, Mr. Robinson. For everything."

"It's my pleasure, Tadashi. You and your brother are talented, just like Wilbur here." Cornelius clapped his son on the shoulder.

"Wilbur is very bright." Tadashi agreed.

"Well then, I've got to get to work." Cornelius said. "I have to make some space in here so Wilbur and I have room to breathe." The inventor glanced around the room. "But I'm running out of room in the garage."

"Too bad shrink rays don't exist." Tadashi said.

"Yes. I've tried to come up with a way for that to work, but I always hit a dead end. The laws of matter, matter." Cornelius Robinson walked away then, into his maze of inventions.

Wilbur stared after him, his mind racing. Shrink rays weren't physically possible, but maybe it wasn't about making them smaller. Maybe if it was sent somewhere else… like a…

"Pocket dimension." He said aloud.

Tadashi gave him a puzzled look.

"A pocket dimension. Shrink rays are impossible, but we don't need to make dad's inventions smaller, we just need to send them away!" Wilbur said.

"To where?" Tadashi asked curiously.

"A pocket dimension!"

"That's a good idea, but alternate dimensions are theoretical."

"But not impossible. Krei industries were onto something with their Space Jump Gates." Wilbur explained. "They were able to access a pocket dimension in order to travel from one point in space to another. If I could figure how to do that on a smaller scale, to create an access point into the pocket dimension, then it could be used to store large items like dad's inventions."

Tadashi stared at him for a moment. "That's ingenious."

"Why, thank you." Wilbur bowed.

"You could make that your project for the expo!" Tadashi said excitedly.

"Expo? What expo?" Cornelius had returned, his arms laden with old equipment and cords.

"Oh, man. I can't believe I haven't told you!" Cornelius stood there, waiting expectantly. "I'm applying to SFIT! Tadashi's school!"

Cornelius face broke into a wide grin. "That's fantastic, Wilbur! So you're going to enter something in the annual exposition?"

"You bet!"

"I wish you luck. I'm proud of you , Will." Cornelius said, before walking out the door.

"I'm going to head down to the library. Wanna come?" Wilbur asked, holding out a hand to help Tadashi stand.

"Nah, I think I'll take a nap. I'm exhausted, and I'd like to have more energy for dinner time." They headed for the stairs. "No offense, but your family is kind of crazy."

"Believe me, I know."


	8. In The End Everything Collides

The shuffling made Wilbur look up from his book. He was greeted by several stacks of thick books, old and new, which effectively formed a small wall before him. He stood up to peek over the books.

Tadashi was standing further away, supporting himself on a cane, and idly reading the titles on the shelves.

"How's the research going?" He asked Wilbur without turning away from the shelves.

"Uh, fantastic, actually." Wilbur said. "I've been studying string theory and the ten dimensions." He'd spent the last week in the library, trying to figure out exactly how to open a portal into another dimension.

"I'm glad." Tadashi hobbled over to the table Wilbur was seated at. He sat down and picked up a book off the top of his stacks. "The Dharma? I didn't know you studied mysticism."

"The ancient mystics knew way more about the universe than we give them credit for." Wilbur explained. "They knew there were ten dimensions without the aid of science."

"Interesting." Tadashi opened the book to the first chapter and was quiet. Wilbur returned to his own work, and soon became lost in his thoughts again.

Hours later, the two of them returned the books to their shelves and headed for the lab. It was time to put his theories to the test.

In the lab, Wilbur set to work immediately. Tadashi sat in his chair, watching. Sometimes he would pull out a magazine, or play on Wilbur's portable game console.

Cornelius joined them in the lab after dinner, still attempting to clean up the place. Tadashi offered to help, but Cornelius declined, saying he had it covered.

Around midnight, Tadashi stood up. "I'm getting a snack. Want anything?"

"Uh…coke and some gummie bears, please." Wilbur said as he tweaked some wires.

"Gummie bears?" Tadashi smiled to himself. "I'll be right back then."

When he returned, Wilbur was running the 3D printer. Tadashi admired the machine Wilbur had erected.

"Isn't that a big bigger than what you were going for?" Tadashi asked.

"That is an excellent question." Wilbur pulled out the newly printed object and set it carefully on a nearby counter. "I'm scaling. Starting off with a scale model, and then building the final product."

"Doesn't scaling usually begin small and then go big?"

"Normally yes." Wilbur opened a panel and installed the printed object into the machine. "But when your goal is something small, then you have to do the opposite. Start big. Then miniaturize."

"Yet shrink rays don't exist." Tadashi threw him a pack of gummies and returned to his seat.

"I'm taking the long way around." Wilbur said. "The printer will do most of the work, though."

"Impressive."

"And now, it's time to test it." Wilbur backed away to study his machine.

"Already? You work fast." Tadashi stood beside him, handing him a coke.

Wilbur refrained from answering him as he took a sip. Tadashi broke the silence.

"How does it work?"

"Well," Wilbur began. "First, this ring is a portal to a pocket dimension. Objects go through it and are stored in the pocket, and they can be located within the pocket through the dimensional scanner, so it won't be a scattered mess of floating objects." Wilbur motioned to a round metal plate in front of the ring. "Anything you want to store, you set here, and the portal sucks it in."

"What about larger objects that don't fit on the plate?"

"For larger objects, I've built a larger plate." Wilbur held up a tiny, compact disc. At Tadashi's puzzlement, he added: "It's more than meets the eye." Then he tossed the disc to the ground and it expanded to be six feet in diameter.

"Wow." Tadashi gaped.

"When you want to retrieve an item, you simply look it up on the monitor, and it returns it to our dimension." Wilbur finished.

"So, what are you going to test with?"

Wilbur held up his unopened bag of gummie bears. "I figured something unimportant and unlikely to blow up in our faces would be best."

He tapped the large plate with his fist and it compacted again. Wilbur picked it up and set it aside. Then he placed the gummie bear pack on the small plate.

"Ready?" He asked Tadashi.

"Heck yeah." Tadashi grinned.

Wilbur turned on the test camera. "This is Wilbur Robinson, starting the first test of the pocket dimension storage device." He fired up the machine. "Device is stable thus far."

Wilbur narrated his actions with practiced ease. Before he pressed the scan button to send the gummie bears into the pocket, he looked to Tadashi, who gave him a thumbs-up. With a smile on his face, he pressed the button.

There was a soft hum as the portal opened, and they watched as the scanners ran over the packet of bear-shaped treats. Then, before their very eyes, the gummie bears were sucked into the portal, and disappeared.

The two of them stood stock still. Then Wilbur turned to the monitor and located the packet in the pocket dimension. He recalled it, and a moment later, the portal spit it back out, completely unharmed and more than likely safe to eat.

"Radiation levels are normal." Tadashi read from the main computer.

"It works." Wilbur murmured.

There was another moment of silence.

"It works!" Wilbur punched the air. Tadashi joined him in celebration, giving him a hug and a fist bump, both of them shouting in joy.

"I can't believe it actually works!"

"Of course it works!" Tadashi cried. "You're a genius, Hiro!"

Wilbur froze. He stared in shock at Tadashi, who seemed to have realized what he'd just said.

Tadashi opened his mouth, as if to say something. Maybe to apologize, but Wilbur didn't need to hear it. He darted out of the room before he could utter a word. At the bottom of the stairs, he passed his father, who shouted after him. But he didn't stop. He kept running, down staircase after staircase, past surprised family members, past Lefty and the twins. He didn't stop until his body gave in to exhaustion. He collapsed behind a topiary of a T-Rex, breathing hard.

How could he have been so stupid? How could he think that Tadashi would ever see him the same way he saw Hiro. He was bound to mistake the two of them eventually.

Sobbing didn't make it any easier to breathe, but he couldn't control his body anymore. His whole world was crashing down on him. For a moment, he'd had hope. He'd had someone, but that had been snatched away from him in a moment.

Someone sat down beside him, but he didn't care. He didn't care about anything anymore. He didn't care about baseball. He didn't care about inventing. He didn't care about graduating or going to college. He didn't care about the expo or his project. Thinking about any of it hurt, because he couldn't think about those things without Tadashi coming to mind. And thinking about Tadashi, and the fact that he would always be alone, no matter how much Tadashi mussed up him hair, hurt worse than any broken bone he'd ever had.

The person next to him through an arm over his shoulders. "Wilbur." His father's voice said. "I don't know what happened back there. Tadashi wouldn't tell me, but I know it was bad. I know you're hurting right now, but I want you to know I'm here for you."

Wilbur tried to block out his father's words, but it was difficult. When he was little, his father had always been the voice of reason, but also the voice of compassion. Whenever he'd been hurt, it had been his father who soothed him. No one else had that ability.

His dad stopped talking and merely wrapped his arms around him, holding him tight. Wilbur's breathing slowed, and he was finally able to speak.

"He called me Hiro." Wilbur said, as though that would clarify everything. "It was an accident, but I…"

"It's alright, Will." Cornelius told his son. "It's okay to feel the way you feel."

"I'm so stupid!" Another bout of sobs overtook him, and he felt his father's arms tighten.

"No, you're lonely." Wilbur knew his father was right, but no one ever said the truth didn't hurt. "And Tadashi helped you feel not lonely."

"He's been like a big brother, but that's because he is." Wilbur mumbled. "He's just not my older brother."

Cornelius said nothing. "Tadashi feels terrible."

"How do you know?" Wilbur asked in disbelief.

"I could see it in his face."

Wilbur buried his face in his father's chest. He let himself fall apart in his father's arms, not caring how long they sat there in the shadow of the T-Rex. Cornelius held him tight, murmuring words of encouragement until he cried himself to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really cried when I was writing this. It hurt me so much to break Wilbur's heart, but I had to. It just...seemed like it was supposed to happen. Even though it hurt. Excuse me, I have to go cry some more.


	9. If It's Me You Need To Turn To

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AND NOW TO CRUSH THE DREAMS OF A POOR LITTLE ORPHAN BOY!
> 
> Haha, just kidding. Little Lewis isn't in this fic, except in passing mention. We only see him as Wilbur's dad, Cornelius. I don't plan on crushing anyone's dreams... yet. 
> 
> WHY AREN'T YOU SEIZING THE BOY?!

Cornelius quietly closed the door of his son's room, and looked down the hall. He wasn't at all surprised to see Tadashi standing there. Cornelius motioned for them to go in the young man's room.

Tadashi sat down on his bed. "I still don't understand what happened." He said quietly. "But I know that I hurt Wilbur."

"He's…" Cornelius stopped himself. Should he be telling this man his son's personal business?

"I shouldn't have called him Hiro." Tadashi stood up and walked towards the window. "Anyone would have been insulted if they were mistaken for someone else. I just… got lost in the moment."

"He wasn't insulted." Cornelius joined him by the window. "It's difficult to explain."

"I want to understand." Tadashi murmured.

Cornelius sighed and ran a hand through his cowlick. "Wilbur… has had a difficult time recently. He lost his best friend…" That wasn't entirely true, but Cornelius didn't want to explain that HE was Wilbur's best friend…just an older version of him. "And he hasn't had any since. Even at home, he's pretty lonely. But when you woke up, you filled a void in his life. You're his first friend in a very long time, and he looks up to you, like...like…"

"An older brother." Tadashi finished. "That's why he ran away. It wasn't that he was insulted to be called Hiro. I just reminded him that I already had a little brother."

"Exactly." Cornelius was relieved that Tadashi was so understanding. "It's like finding the perfect girl. You fall in love with her and you think she loves you back, and then she tells you she already has a boyfriend. That she's taken."

"But I'm not. Not entirely." Tadashi said. Cornelius gave him a puzzled look, so he clarified. "There's room for Wilbur in my heart, too. I really care about him."

"Wilbur doesn't see that." Cornelius said.

"You know, I kind of understand where he's coming from." Tadashi stared out the window. "When I first started at SFIT, Professor Callaghan was my mentor. After a while, I started to see him as a sort of father figure. He was so kind and supportive. Then one day, someone mentioned he had a daughter, and I felt like an idiot. I'd had this dream about Callaghan adopting me and Hiro. It was childish and stupid, but I couldn't help it."

"It's not a crime to wish your life was different." Cornelius reminded him.

"I know."

Cornelius cleared his throat, and Tadashi looked at him curiously.

"There's something…" Cornelius began. "You need to know. Before your family gets here."

* * *

"Whoa." Fred muttered.

"You said it." Wasabi concurred, gazing at the city before them.

"We are definitely not in San Fransokyo anymore." Gogo added, heaving her duffle onto her shoulder.

"This is so amazing!" Aunt Cass cried. She tugged Hiro into a tight hug. "Thank you for inviting me, sweetheart!"

"No problem, Aunt Cass." Hiro grunted. When she released him, he set Baymax's red carrier on the ground and pressed the single button.

Baymax immediately inflated and greeted them.

"We're finally in Todayland!" Honey Lemon couldn't hold back her excitement as she spun in a circle.

"Where do we go from here?" Hiro asked.

Wasabi pulled out the instructions he'd printed. "There's supposed to be an escort waiting for us."

"You think it's him?" Aunt Cass pointed at a strangely dressed man wearing what appeared to be a superhero leotard, but without the cape. He was holding a sign that said, "SFTI STUDENTS."

"If it is, then they spelled our name wrong." Gogo blew a pink bubble.

"It's an honest mistake." Honey said.

They walked up to the man and introduced themselves.

"Pleasure to meet you all." He saluted them. "My name is Art. I'm Cornelius Robinson's brother-in-law, and I'd like to welcome you to Todayland!"

"Thanks." Hiro shook his hand. "So where are we going first?"

"First, you can set all of your luggage in this vehicle. My brother will take it to our home, where you'll be staying the next few days. We're going to have a quick tour of the city and then we'll have dinner at our home, commonly known as the Robinson House. Should you ever get lost in the city and don't remember our address, you can be sure all the taxi drivers will recognize the name Robinson."

"Uh…okay…" Wasabi said.

They loaded their luggage into the car Art had pointed to, and waved goodbye to the man in the driver's seat, who Art had introduced as Gaston.

"So, how about we start with town hall?"

* * *

Tadashi stared at the three Robinsons in front of him. It was morning, and he had barely slept. Wilbur, who sat directly across from him on the sofa, looked tired too, and extremely uncomfortable.

I'm not mad at you, Wilbur. Tadashi thought. I don't really know who to be mad at.

Cornelius had told him the truth about everything the night before, and Tadashi had spent the past ten hours processing it.

His family and friends thought he was dead. Seven months. The whole world had thought he was dead for seven months. God, how Hiro must have felt all this time. Tadashi ached to see his little brother again. For the past two weeks, he had imagined a happy, albeit tearful, reunion, but now… Hiro would be shocked, full of disbelief, perhaps angry…

He hoped Hiro wouldn't blame the Robinsons. Even after finding out that they'd lied to him, it didn't shake his good feelings towards them. They'd taken care of him for more than seven months without even knowing who he was. It was impossible to hate them.

Even crazier than the "being dead" part was how the Robinsons had found him. Cornelius had told him about his Callaghan theory, and no matter how Tadashi looked at it, he couldn't see any other explanation. Why would Callaghan save his life? Was it compensation, because he was stealing his little brother's invention?

Tadashi shook his head. He looked at the Robinsons again. They all looked nervous.

"I'm not mad." He told them. Cornelius and Franny relaxed, but Wilbur didn't meet his eyes. "I understand why you did what you did. It's just… a lot to take in."

"We still haven't told your family." Cornelius said. "They think they're coming to see my lab."

"I don't think they would believe you unless I was standing in front of them." Tadashi said. He still worried about Hiro's reaction. Would he run into Tadashi's arms? Or would he run away just like Wilbur had last night?

"My thoughts exactly. I still don't know how to explain it." Cornelius sighed.

"We'll have to cross that bridge when we come to it." Franny said.

* * *

"THIS. IS. THE. COOLEST. THING. EVER!" Fred shouted through the clear membrane surrounding him.

Hiro had to agree, bubble travel was tons of fun. It was the perfect way to end their tour of Todayland.

"It's kind of slow." Gogo said.

"It's supposed to be an entertaining form of travel through the mall." Art explained. "Like a bird's eye view."

"I love it!" Aunt Cass tumbled past them, somersaulting in her bubble.

"I do not see how floating in a bubble makes me a better healthcare companion." Baymax said as he floated closer to the popper.

"It's fun!" Honey Lemon was holding her high heels against her chest, as the man at the bubble blowing port had warned her of pointy things and their relationships with bubbles.

It wasn't long before they had all reached the popper port and zoomed down the travel tube to the ground floor of the Todayland mall. Art led them out of the huge, roofless building and into the city, where Gaston was waiting for them with the car. They piled into the SUV sized vehicle. Art continued to explain different aspects about the city as they drove to the Robinson House, which stood just outside the city, on a hill overlooking it.

As they got closer, Art spoke less and less and every now and then exchanged an odd look with Gaston. Hiro glanced at the others to see if they had noticed, but they were all busy looking out the windows at their surroundings. He resigned himself to keeping an eye out for anything else suspicious.

* * *

"Wilbur!"

Wilbur silently cursed himself for not leaving faster. Reluctantly, he turned to find himself face to face with Tadashi.

"Wilbur, I…" Tadashi rubbed his shoulder nervously. "I wanted to apologize for last night. And to tell you… that I think you're a great kid and…"

Oh no, here it comes. Wilbur wanted to run away again, but he had promised himself he wouldn't be so cowardly.

"And if you need someone to…" Tadashi wasn't sure how to phrase it. Was it weird to tell someone you could be their older brother if they wanted? Oh well, it couldn't get much more awkward than this. "If you need an older brother, or just a friend, I can be that person for you." He finally said.

Wilbur stared at him. "What?" He mentally slapped himself for his lack of words.

"I…I can be your older brother." Tadashi repeated.

Wilbur's eyes widened. "But what about Hiro?"

Tadashi smiled. "There is such a thing as having two little brothers."

Wilbur returned his smile.

"So…" Tadashi began. "Brothers?" He held out his hand.

"Brothers." Wilbur took the hand and they shook it.

"Good, then that means I can do this." Without warning, Tadashi gathered Wilbur into a bear hug. Wilbur laughed and returned the embrace.

* * *

"Ring my doorbell."

"No, ring my doorbell. His doorbell is lame."

"Don't listen to him. My doorbell is the right one."

"No it's not. It's the left one."

"Only if you're facing the door. From the other direction it's on the right."

"The other direction doesn't count."

"And why do you get to decide that?"

"Because I'm older."

"Are not."

"Are too."

"Okay, I'm officially weirded out." Wasabi said. "Can we just go in?"

"Hmm… Hang on, I'm trying to decide which doorbell to ring." Art said.

"You live here." Gogo reminded him. "Why do you need to ring the doorbell?"

"It's common courtesy." Art explained. "I'm feeling very left-handed today." He rang the left doorbell.

"Ha! Score one for me!" Said the flowerpot guy on the left.

"Just wait until the next visitor." Then they disappeared into their flowerpots.

"Do they live in those?" Honey Lemon asked.

"No clue." Gaston said, as a giant purple octopus answered the door. "This is our butler, Lefty."

They stared at "Lefty" in shock.

Gogo slipped another piece of gum into her mouth. "I was hoping the bubble would be the craziest part of the day."


	10. Burn Everything You Love

"They're here."

Cornelius looked up to see his son in the doorway. "I don't know if I can do this."

Wilbur raised one eyebrow. "The sooner you do it, the sooner it's over."

Cornelius sighed. "Good point." He finally stood from the sitting room. "Tadashi, it's best that you stay here. I'll send Wilbur to get you when we're ready."

Tadashi gave him a thumbs-up and pulled out Wilbur's portable game console.

Cornelius walked down to the foyer, Wilbur falling into step beside him.

"Hello!" Cornelius greeted his guests with an easy smile. "Welcome to my home."

Seven heads turned to him. He immediately recognized the three of them as students of SFIT, whom he'd met at conferences and expositions. He couldn't remember their names, though. The youngest, though, he knew had to be Hiro. And the marshmallow with arms and legs had to be Baymax. That left the last two as Fred and Tadashi's aunt, Cassandra.

"Oh, it's so nice to meet you, Mr. Robinson!" The tall, skinny girl said, shaking his hand with fervor. She introduced herself, but told him to call her Honey Lemon.

"Gogo Tomago." Said the short brunette. Cornelius assumed that was also a nickname.

The man in dreads tried to introduce himself, but Fred interrupted. "This is Wasabi no Ginger. And I'm Fred." Cornelius tried not to grimace from the man's B.O.

"I'm Hiro Hamada, and this is Aunt Cass." Said the shaggy haired boy.

"And I am Baymax. I am Hiro's personal healthcare companion." Said the large white blimp of a robot.

"My brother's invention." Hiro said. "And a good friend."

"Nice to meet you all." Cornelius said. "Allow me to introduce my son, Wilbur, and my wife, Franny."

Franny curtsied and Wilbur waved. The others murmured greetings to them.

"So, let's get this show on the road." Cornelius clapped his hands together. "Have any of you used travel tubes before?"

"Not before today." Hiro said. "But it was awesome."

"I do not travel well in tubes." Baymax said.

"We also have an elevator." Wilbur offered. They all turned to him, and he shrugged. "It might actually be faster."

"Elevator it is, then." Cornelius said. He led them into the main corridor and down the hall. On the way there, they passed an open door where Tallulah and Laszlo were having an argument, and Uncle Fritz was trying to quell the shouting match.

"My Uncle Fritz, and his children Tallulah and Laszlo." Cornelius motioned into the room but kept walking.

"What was up with the puppet?" Gogo asked.

Wilbur put a finger to his lips. "Don't say that out loud. She's Uncle Fritz's wife, Petunia."

Cornelius smiled despite himself at his guests' confused expressions.

Another door was playing loud music. "I think my parents might be dancing. Best we not disturb them."

The next open door revealed a dark room with only a TV playing. "That's my Uncle Joe." He gave no other explanation.

Finally, they reached the elevator. Cornelius called it, and it opened to reveal Carl, who was writing something on a clipboard.

"And this is one of my favorite inventions." Cornelius motioned everyone into the rather large elevator. "Meet Carl."

"Hello." Carl looked up for only a moment, before returning to his clipboard. "I didn't realize what day it was. I was just coming to brief you on the doctor's most recent visit." He backed into a corner so there was more space for Baymax. "Apparently, he's regaining strength and mobility faster than expected. He'll be in tip-top shape in less than a month."

"Wonderful." Cornelius said. He then gave Carl a look that said, "Shut up before I decide to tell Lewis not to invent you." Carl didn't say another word.

They reached the lab quickly. Cornelius opened the door with a flourish and watched their expressions with deep satisfaction. He spent the next hour showing them around and explaining his various inventions, and even offered Wilbur a chance to showcase his part of the lab. Wilbur declined though, saying his big project was a surprise. Cornelius then led the group back downstairs, to the lounge that he'd left the biggest surprise of the day in.

He sent Wilbur ahead of them to warn Tadashi.

When they reached the door of the lounge, Cornelius stopped and turned to them. "Before I go any further, I want you to know the real reason I invited you all here."

He received several questioning looks.

"Seven months ago, a young man was left on my doorstep. He was in a coma, and we had no idea who he was." Eyebrows rose on some of the guests, but Cornelius noticed that Hiro's furrowed. "We still don't know how he got there, but two weeks ago, he woke and told us his name. I…thought you all might like to meet him."

Without further ado, Cornelius pushed open the door.

* * *

Tadashi almost dropped the game console when Wilbur burst into the room.

"They're…coming…" He said in between breaths.

"Oh!" Was all Tadashi could say for a moment. "Uh…what am I supposed to do?"

"I…have…no clue."

Tadashi retrieved a glass of water from the lounge's kitchen and offered it to Wilbur, who gratefully accepted.

A few minutes later, they heard Cornelius' voice outside the room. Tadashi was trembling. His friends were on the other side of that door. His family was, too. Aunt Cass and Hiro. Hiro. His little brother. He looked across the coffee table, where Wilbur sat on the couch, staring at the door as though it were about to explode.

"…I…thought you'd like to meet him." The door opened and several people walked in.

Tadashi didn't know what to do, so he stood up, drawing attention to himself.

He watched nervously as his loved ones' faces turned from surprise to shock to confusion, and a mixture of other emotions that he couldn't quite place.

They all stood there, staring at each other.

The silence was broken by someone Tadashi hadn't expected to see.

"Tadashi."

* * *

It had to be a joke. Hiro had suddenly lost the ability to move. His body wouldn't listen to him. He wasn't even sure what he wanted his body to do. Run away in fear and agony? Accept what he was seeing and throw himself at the man before him? Attack him? Faint?

"Tadashi."

Everyone turned to Baymax.

"I am confused." The robot said. "My files say Tadashi died seven and a half months ago, but my scans say this is Tadashi."

"Your scans are never wrong." Honey Lemon said quietly.

"You're alive?" Aunt Cass stepped forward, a hopeful look on her face.

"Yeah. I'm alive, Aunt Cass." The man that looked like Tadashi said, giving her a small smile.

"Oh, my boy!" She nearly knocked him over with the power of her hug. "You're alive! I can't believe it but it's really you!"

Her response seemed to shake the others out of trance, and they all took turns hugging him and expressing their disbelief.

All except Hiro, who stayed where he was. Finally, the others were out of the way, and Hiro and the so-called Tadashi were left to stare at each other.

"Hiro." The man said. "It's really me."

Hiro felt a warm tear streak down his face. His body suddenly sprang into action, and he threw himself into Tadashi's outstretched arms.

He looked like his brother, sounded like his brother, smelled like his brother, felt like his brother. Even Baymax had confirmed it was him.

"Nii-chan." He sobbed into his brother's chest. Tadashi held him close, and Hiro felt him trembling. He realized his brother was crying, too, and Hiro wrapped his arms around Tadashi neck, tightening their embrace.

He didn't care that everyone was watching. He was tired of acting strong. He was tired of pretending everything was okay. Nothing was okay without Tadashi. All the pain he'd felt in the past seven months came pouring out as tears and sobs and trembles. He never wanted to let go of him again. The last time he had let go of his brother, he'd lost him for what he thought was forever. Now he was back. His nii-chan was alive and well and Hiro was never going to let him go again.

"I missed you…" Hiro finally managed to choke out. "So much, Nii-chan."

"I missed you, too, Hiro." Tadashi said, stroking Hiro's hair.

Tadashi pulled away slightly, cradling Hiro's tear-streaked face in his hands. "Come on, we can't stay on the floor all day."

Hiro didn't want to get up, but Tadashi wasn't taking no for an answer, so he followed his brother to the couch, hanging onto him every second.

"It is sick to see you again, Tadashi." Baymax said.

"What?" Tadashi glanced between Baymax and Hiro. "I think you may have a glitch…"

Baymax sat down in a rather large chair.

"It is just an expression."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haha, had to throw Baymax in there. I feel like he would overuse the "sick" expression. A lot. Like a lot a lot. Sadly Baymax doesn't have a huge role in this fanfic. I actually have to remind myself to make him say or do something, because I forget about him. I love Baymax, don't get me wrong, but he's not a major character in this. I'll be in the middle of a scene and suddenly think, "Where's Baymax?" and then I have to add him in.


	11. No Room For Innocence

Tadashi laughed as Fred finished telling his story. For the past three hours, they had sat in the lounge, just talking. They took turns telling stories about the past half year. Even Baymax had a few things to say, and Tadashi quickly learned that the robot he designed had developed his own personality.

Only Hiro had stayed quiet. He hadn't spoken a word since their tearful embrace earlier. Tadashi knew this was more shocking to him than anyone else, so he said nothing. He had never seen his little brother so vulnerable, not even when their parents died, and it worried him.

Don't worry Hiro, Tadashi thought. I'm here, and everything is going to be just fine. He threw an arm over Hiro, and the shaggy haired boy responded by resting his head on Tadashi shoulder. He wanted nothing more than to pull Hiro into his lap and hold him tight, just as he'd done twelve years ago.

"Dude, we totally kick butt!" Fred was saying. "You should have seen our last battle. We totally creamed the guy!"

Wasabi rolled his eyes. "If by 'kick butt', you mean spit fire at them and see if it works, then yes, that's what happened."

"Technicalities." Fred waved Wasabi's words away.

"Crime fighting is much more fun than I expected." Honey cut in. "Oh! What if we made a suit for you, Tadashi?!"

Tadashi grinned. "That would be awesome. I really want to join you guys."

"Wicked!" Fred punched the air.

Before anyone could begin discussing what Tadashi's suit would include, Cornelius cleared his throat. They turned to the window seat, where Cornelius and Wilbur had been sitting the entire time. Wilbur was eyeing his father over the screen of his portable game, and Tadashi felt a twinge of guilt for ignoring him for so long. Whether Wilbur was upset with him, he couldn't tell, but the kid seemed pretty skilled at hiding his emotions. Who knew how he felt at any given moment?

Cornelius stood up once all eyes were on him. "I know that you've just had a heart-wrenching reunion, and you're all catching up, but there is an important matter to discuss, and I feel now is the time to give it our full attention." The others stared at him. "Well, I don't know about you all, but I'd like to know how Tadashi ended up on my doorstep, thousands of miles from San Fransokyo, in a coma."

* * *

Hiro watched Wilbur rewind the footage all the way to 3:42 am, on the night Tadashi had been found. They stared at the empty front porch on the screen.

"Here is 3:42:59." Wilbur paused the video from his small laptop. The others watched the large cinema size screen from their theater style seats. Hiro had counted the seats when they entered. There were twenty-four, arranged into three rows of 8. A center isle split the multi-leveled room into two halves.

At the moment, the family theater was occupied by Hiro, Tadashi, the Big Hero 6, Aunt Cass, a number of Robinsons besides Cornelius and Wilbur, and a representative of the government that Cornelius trusted.

"And this is a second later, at 3:43." Wilbur said. Wilbur un-paused and quickly re-paused. The change was quite drastic. There were the twins, unconscious in their flower pots, and there was Tadashi, his head shave and dressed completely in black, lying on the doorstep. There were gasps, and a choked sob from Aunt Cass, throughout the room.

"Man," Tadashi said. "I do not look good with a shaved head."

"This is obviously impossible." Said the government agent. He had introduced himself as Dr. Adrian Alviar, and had already run a blood test to ensure that Tadashi was indeed Tadashi. Now he was helping to solve the mystery of his survival. "All of that couldn't have happened in a second. The person responsible must have placed a loop on the video feed up until this moment."

Thank you, Captain Obvious, Hiro thought, but he dared not say anything. He knew Dr. Alviar was only doing his job. Besides, Mr. Robinson trusted him. So Hiro decided he could trust him, too.

"That's what we thought." Wilbur said. "Our security systems are the best of the best, so it'll be easy to narrow down the list of suspects. Only someone with access to advanced technology and the technological know-how to use it could have accomplished this."

That makes a very narrow list, Hiro thought.

"And have you compiled an actual list of suspects?" Dr. Alviar asked.

"We've narrowed it down to six people." Said Mr. Robinson. "Two of them had very convincing alibis, two were sleeping, and one was in a coma."

"Can we see the list?" Dr. Alviar looked bemused. Mr. Robinson motioned for Wilbur to change the screen, and a moment later, there were five names displayed in front of them.

_Suspects_

_Alistair Krei_

_Robert Callaghan_

_Tadashi Hamada_

_Cornelius Robinson_

_Wilbur Robinson_

_Erin Villa_

"So you think it's Robert Callaghan?" Dr. Alviar concluded. Perhaps he wasn't as dumb as he seemed, Hiro thought.

"Who is Erin Villa?" Aunt Cass asked.

"My assistant." Mr. Robinson replied. "She was in the Caribbean Islands at the time that these events took place."

"What alibi did Alistair Krei have?" Hiro didn't want to completely rule out the man.

"He was visiting with the U.S. president." Said Dr. Alviar. "I didn't know Wilbur could crack firewalls."

They turned to Wilbur, who was studying the screen in front of him. He must have sensed the eyes on him because he looked up, with a deer-in-headlights expression. "What happened?"

"Have you considered applying to the CIA? We could use someone with your skills." Dr. Alviar leaned forward.

"Nope." Wilbur turned back to the computer. "There's something here. I didn't notice it before." He quickly changed the screen back to the video footage, and zoomed in.

Hiro's eyes widened. He almost didn't want to believe it but there it was. Staring him in the face. He'd recognize it anywhere.

A microbot.

Everyone was silent for a moment. Then Dr. Alviar stood up from his seat in the front row.

"That's the technology Professor Callaghan stole from the expo, is it not?" Dr. Alviar was standing in front of the screen now for a closer look at the microbot.

"Yeah." Hiro said hoarsely. "That's my invention." He felt Tadashi's arm tighten around his shoulders.

"This isn't your fault, Hiro." Tadashi whispered. It felt like it though.

"So, Callaghan started the fire, stole the microbots, and must have found Tadashi there. He saved him using the microbots, at some point induced a coma and erased or blocked his memories, and then used the microbots to bring him here." Mr. Robinson reasoned.

"But why save me? Why not let me die?" Tadashi questioned.

"We could ask him." Wilbur once again managed to attract their attention without fully meaning too. He stared at his computer instead of meeting their gazes. Hiro wondered if he was shy or just unused to everyone actually listening to what he had to say. "I mean, he's not dead… just in prison, and it's not like he can deny saving Tadashi. There's too much evidence against him."

"That's a good idea." Dr. Alviar agreed.

"But who would talk to him?" Franny, in the back of the room asked. "He doesn't exactly trust people unconditionally."

"Franny's right." Mr. Robinson ran a hand through his hair. "He hates the government for failing to punish Krei after the incident with his daughter. He'd never talk to you or anyone else in your department."

Dr. Alviar nodded. "But he'd talk to you."

"Me?" Mr. Robinson pointed to himself.

Again, the agent nodded. "Think about it. He owes it to you. Forgive me for phrasing it this way, but he did dump a teenage boy in a coma on you with no explanation."

"You're not wrong." Tadashi said. Hiro smiled.

"Alright." Mr. Robinson heaved himself out of his chair. "Dr. Alviar and I will go to the San Fransokyo High-Security Prison and talk to Callaghan."

"How long will that take?" Aunt Cass asked.

"A few hours, at the most." Dr. Alviar said casually.

"You're kidding." Gogo said.

"The CIA has a high velocity jet, invented by CERN. We'll get to San Fransokyo within an hour. The interview will take some time, and then we'll fly back." Mr. Robinson explained.

"Why is the CIA helping with this case anyways?" Tadashi asked. "I didn't think I was that important."

"Someone hacked into the most powerful security system in the world, and you think we're going to ignore it?" Dr. Alviar raised his eyebrows dramatically. "And the president liked your robot nurse."

"Oh…" Tadashi sat back in his chair. "That's nice to know." Hiro refrained from laughing at the idea of the U.S. president telling the CIA to investigate a case involving the inventor of Baymax.

"He also owed me a favor." Mr. Robinson added. He then said goodbye to his wife, son and various family members, before waving to the rest of them. "See you all soon."

The two of them left and the room fell to silence.

"So…" Franny began. "What's for dinner, Carl?"


	12. The Bottom Half of the Hourglass

"You have ten minutes." Said the heavily armed guard. "We'll be watching."

Cornelius nodded, and stepped into the interrogation room, alone. San Fransokyo High-Security Prison didn't have a visitor's room. Most prisoners were too insane or too dangerous to be allowed visitors. Without Alviar's CIA status, Cornelius never would have gained access to the man chained to the table in front of him.

Cornelius sat down in the folding chair across from Robert Callaghan. He appeared older, much older than forty-something. He had lost so much wait that his bones were visible. He was basically skin and bones.

"They told me you've been refusing to eat." Cornelius said by way of greeting.

"Why are you here, Robinson?" Callaghan rasped.

"Don't play dumb, Robert." Cornelius retorted. "You know exactly why I'm here."

Callaghan coughed. "Has it been seven months already?"

"So you had his coma timed?"

"Of course I did. I suppose he's told you who he is."

"Tadashi. Your former student." Cornelius responded. "But you already knew that."

"And you were kind enough to take him in." Callaghan released another hacking cough. "Without knowing who he was, you took him in. He could have been a murderer, carrying an incurable disease, or an illegal immigrant. You didn't think of any of those things, did you? All you saw was a man who needed help, and you jumped into action. You and Tadashi are very alike." He paused to clear his throat.

"He ran into that building to save your life." Cornelius interjected. "And you ended up saving his life, and stealing his brother's invention."

Callaghan said nothing.

"Why did you do it?" Cornelius pressured.

For a moment, Callaghan was still quiet. Then, without looking at the younger man, he said: "I wanted to avenge my daughter."

"I'm not talking about that." Callaghan looked up, and Cornelius clarified. "I want to know why you didn't let him die." He took a breath. "Why did you go through all the trouble of saving Tadashi's life?"

Callaghan finally met his eyes, and opened his mouth to speak.

What came out, though, was not what Cornelius expected.

* * *

Tadashi, Hiro and Baymax followed Wilbur down the street. Franny and Aunt Cass had told the three of them they could go out to eat by themselves on the condition that they took Baymax. Tadashi knew they would have been fine if he'd been in better shape, but even now, he was fatigued. Baymax, unfortunately, had noticed.

"Tadashi must eat soon or he may faint." Baymax said. "How much farther until we reach our destination?"

"We're here." Wilbur said.

Tadashi looked up at the corner building they had stopped at. It was old fashioned, like their surroundings. They were standing in the historical section of Todayland, a part of the city where the old buildings still stood. There were subtle reminders of technological advancement scattered around them, such as the transport tubes, which ran through buildings here and underground rather than in plain sight, where it would take away the beauty of the old neighborhood.

"This is my favorite café." Wilbur explained. "It's owned and run by a famous baseball star from around here. He opened it when he retired."

Tadashi read the sign above the door.

Yagoobian Corner, it read.

What a name, Tadashi thought, as he followed the others inside.

Unsurprisingly, the whole café was decorated in baseball trophies and memorabilia. It was no wonder that Wilbur loved the place.

"Wilbur!" Cried the man behind the counter. He donned a New York Giants baseball cap that Tadashi knew had to be vintage. "Long time no see! Are these your friends?"

"Yep." Wilbur walked up to the counter. "This is Tadashi and Hiro Hamada." Wilbur motioned to each of them. "And this is Baymax." Baymax waved his large hand.

The man studied Baymax for a moment. "One of Lewis' inventions?"

"Actually, I was built by Tadashi. I am a personal healthcare companion." Baymax corrected. "Tadashi is my current patient. He-"

"Thank you, Baymax." Tadashi said, cutting the robot off. He resolved to add patient privacy to his code later.

"So, Mike, what's on the menu for today?" Wilbur asked the man.

"Twelve years and you still have to ask?" Mike handed them each a menu. "You either got terrible memory, or you don't like small talk."

"Can I get an adult menu?" Hiro asked. Tadashi took one look at the menu in his brother's hands, and snickered. The cover of the kids menu, which was also an activities booklet, was a unicorn, complete with hearts and sparkly stars.

"Oh, sorry! I thought you were younger!" Mike quickly switched Hiro's menu.

Hiro elbowed Tadashi in the ribs. "Not funny."

"You're right." Wilbur said pointedly. "It's hilarious."

They slid into a booth. Baymax deflated some to fit in next to Tadashi.

"How old are you, anyways?" Wilbur asked.

"Fifteen, you?"

"Fourteen."

"Ha. I'm older than you."

"And shorter."

"Shut up."

Tadashi smiled at his brother and honorary brother's quarrel. He hadn't told Hiro about Wilbur's new status as little brother, afraid Hiro would think he was being replaced. He still felt nervous, but knew he'd have to tell him sooner or later.

"Tadashi?" He looked up at the two boys in front of him, both with similar concerned expressions on their faces.

"What happened?" He asked, slightly dazed.

"I asked what you were getting." Hiro repeated.

"Oh." Tadashi looked down at the menu. "I'm not sure."

"I recommend the angus burger." Wilbur pointed to something on his menu, showing it to Hiro.

"That looks good. Does it come with onion rings?" Hiro turned the burger in his own menu.

"You can have either fries or onion rings with a burger." Wilbur told him.

"I think we should get an appetizer." Tadashi said. "Specifically the egg rolls."

The other two agreed with him just as the waitress walked up. "Hiya Wilbur!" She greeted. "What can I get you boys to drink?"

Wilbur greeted the girl, who he called Milly, and they ordered their drinks and egg rolls.

"Comin' right up." She said, and strolled away.

"She's Mike's daughter." Wilbur explained. "Had a major crush on me in middle school."

"And how do you feel about her?" Hiro asked, watching her with mild admiration.

"She's nice, but not very smart."

"Not very smart meaning she can't count to three, or she's average and you're looking for someone on your intellectual level?" Hiro gave him a gap-toothed grin.

"She can count to five, thank you." Wilbur said, and they burst out laughing.

"You'll find plenty of smart girls at SFIT." Tadashi said.

Hiro gasped. "You're going to our school? No way!"

"That's right. He'll be presenting his own invention at the expo this summer." Tadashi thanked Milly as she set their drinks and egg rolls in front of them.

"That's awesome!" Hiro said. They gave Milly their dinner orders, and she left.

"That is sick." Baymax said.

Tadashi raised an eyebrow. "Who taught him that?" He asked Hiro

"Uh…Fred." Hiro lied, slipping his straw into his coke.

"Hey, check this out." Wilbur showed Hiro something on his phone. He and Hiro stared at the screen for a minute, their eyes scanning as though they were reading something.

"That's insane." Hiro commented.

Tadashi tried not to feel left out as they began talking about whatever they'd read. He was happy that the two of them were getting on so well. Their food arrived rather quickly, as the conversation turned to technology and SFIT. Tadashi found he was able to join in this conversation, even telling a few stories about his experiences at school. They were great listeners, laughing at the right times and scoffing indignantly on cue.

Near the end of their meal, they ordered dessert, and Tadashi decided that it was time to tell Hiro about Wilbur. He exchanged a meaningful glance with the youngest of the trio, and cleared his throat as he always did when he had something important to talk about.

Hiro gave him his full attention.

"Hiro, you and Wilbur have become pretty fast friends…" Tadashi began. "And I wanted to tell you that I…" Why wasn't he ever good at this kind of thing?

"Are you trying to tell me you're gay and involved with Wilbur?" Hiro inquired.

"Nope." Wilbur said, taking a sip of his coke.

"That is not what I was going to say…" Tadashi paused. "I've kind of…adopted Wilbur as my little brother. Alongside you, of course." He braced himself for whatever reaction he might receive.

"Really? Cool." Hiro finished his last onion ring.

"You're not mad?" Tadashi asked, surprised.

"'Course not." Hiro said, as he stole one of Tadashi's fries. "If you've adopted him as your little brother, then that makes him my little brother, too. Because I'm older."

Wilbur narrowed his eyes at Hiro. "Still shorter, though."

* * *

Franny screamed when Cornelius stepped through the door. Everyone who'd been in the theater room had congregated in the foyer five minutes before Cornelius and Dr. Alviar were due to return.

"What happened?" Lucille asked, running to her son faster than her age should have allowed. Wilbur and the other Robinsons started to crowd around him, but Cornelius waved them all away.

"I'll meet you all in the dining room in five minutes. I need to change out of these clothes." Cornelius offered no explanation before he stepped under the nearest transport tube.

Everyone began to badger Dr. Alviar, who raised his hands and refused to say a word with Cornelius there.

Only Baymax could quell the onset of mass hysteria. "My sensors indicate that Mr. Robinson is in perfect health. The blood was not his, but…" Baymax held up a finger. "Professor Callaghan's."

They stared at the large white robot. Then they stared at Dr. Alviar.

He raised his hands again in innocence. "We didn't do it."

Five minutes later, the Robinsons and the San Fransokians were seated around the long dining table. Wilbur sat across from his mother, to the right of his father's seat at the head of the table. On his right was Tadashi, followed by Hiro. Dr. Alviar sat on the other side of Wilbur's mother. Everyone else was scattered randomly around the table.

Cornelius Robinson exited the dining room's transport tube right on time, in a fresh set of new clothes. The room stayed silent as he sat down in his seat, and sighed, running a hand through his cowlick.

"I have…bad news." Cornelius began. "Callaghan is dead." When no one seemed surprised by this, the inventor continued. "When we arrived, we were told he'd lost his appetite recently. He spent our entire conversation coughing. Before we were finished, he began to vomit blood. The ambulance didn't arrive soon enough. By the time they got there, he was already dead."

"We would have returned early, but since Mr. Robinson had come into contact with the blood, they decided to quarantine him until the autopsy was over." Dr. Alviar explained.

"What did the autopsy show?" Franny asked.

"A genetic disease that he was never diagnosed with. Apparently he's been a walking dead man for over forty years." Cornelius folded his hands in front of him. "I've no doubt he knew about it, and that's why he wasn't afraid to do something the things he did, as insane as they were. Until he saw his daughter was alive. I could see the regret in his eyes when he spoke to me."

A ringing silence filled the room, until Wilbur decided to break it. "Did he tell you why he saved Tadashi?"

Cornelius shook his head. "He never had a chance to. But I don't think he did it for the heck of it. I think he must have truly cared for you. All of you." Cornelius glanced at each of Callaghan's former students, including Hiro. "You all probably reminded him of his daughter. Bright and determined to make a difference. He wasn't completely ready to let go."

Wilbur noticed the tears in Honey's eyes. Even Gogo was staring at the floor sadly.

"He was a good man, deep down." Hiro finally said. "Just a broken one."

Tadashi hugged him, burying his face in shaggy hair. Fred took off his beanie out of respect. Honey sniffled and Wasabi gave her a comforting arm. Gogo didn't move an inch, frozen in grief.

Wilbur had no words for any of them. He placed a hand on Tadashi's shoulder and squeezed it gently. The older teen turned to him with red eyes, and pulled him into a tight hug. Wilbur hugged back, not sure what else to do. Tadashi released him and gave him a smile.

A large, white, inflatable hand patted Tadashi on the head. "There, there."

The room was suddenly full of tearful laughter.


	13. The Hardest Part Over

"On the count of three." Wasabi said, holding the hilt of his device firmly.

Wilbur copied his position. "One."

"Two." The others hid behind a desk, expecting this test to have the same result as the last twenty.

"Three!"

A satisfying "shoom" sound echoed throughout the lab as Wilbur and Wasabi pressed the buttons on the hilt of their lightsabers. Rays of light beamed out of the ends, cutting off at two and a half feet.

After the news of Callaghan's death and predeath actions had settled on the Robinsons and San Fransokians, Wilbur had shown his new friends his own inventions. Wasabi had immediately taken interest in his lightsabers project, and the two of them had been working on it for the past week. It seemed they had finally succeeded.

"It works!" Wasabi shouted, holding up the green lightsaber proudly.

Wilbur admired his red one, as Hiro, Tadashi, and Honey crawled out from behind the desk.

"That's awesome." Hiro leaned in for a closer look at Wilbur's new lightsaber.

"Careful." Wilbur cautioned. "It's lethal."

"Can you build me one?" Hiro asked. "Purple, preferably, to match my suit."

"When we're sure it's stable, yes." Wilbur said. "There's a lot of tweaking we still have to do."

"Speaking of suits," Wasabi turned off his lightsaber, and set it down on the desk. "Have you two thought about what you want in your suits?"

Wilbur shook his head. "I haven't really had much time, whatwith the lightsabers and my project for the expo." He set his own deactivated saber next to Wasabi's.

When the Big Hero 6 members had heard Wilbur would be attending SFIT, they had offered him a spot on their superhero team, along with Tadashi. Wilbur had said yes, to his mother's chagrin. His father, of course, had simply warned him not to let it get in the way of his studies.

"I was thinking fire." Tadashi said, leaning back in a desk chair. "But Fred breathes fire. Then I thought about invisibility. I've got a few theories on how that would work. I know karate so that plus being invisible would be pretty useful. Hiro also mentioned that my suit would be able to connect to Baymax, just like his."

The room fell silent, everyone lost in their own thoughts. Wilbur wondered about his own suit. Invisibility would be pretty cool, but he wasn't about to copy off of Tadashi. What else could he do?

"I'm thinking of updating my suit." Hiro slumped onto a bean bag against the wall. "All it does right now is allow me to anchor myself onto Baymax. I'm thinking of adding a laser to my gauntlet, but it'll take some time to perfect it. I don't want to blow up the city."

"You could make it a taser." Wasabi suggested.

"That could work."

Shooting things could work, Wilbur agreed. Lasers, bullets, arrows, nets… nets… something to catch people in… capsules… capsules that led to pocket dimensions… Wilbur straightened. He could apply his own technology to his hero suit. He resolved not to tell the others until after the expo. Despite all their pleading, he had refused to show anyone, other than Tadashi, who already knew, his expo project. He wanted it to be a surprise. Tadashi, of course, was respecting his privacy.

"What's up guys? What'd we miss?" Fred asked as he and Gogo arrived, laden with take-out bags and drinks.

"Doesn't look like you blew anything up this time." Gogo commented.

"Actually, the sabers worked." Wasabi opened a box of greasy pizza and took a slice. "We're on break."

Their mouths were soon full and their appetites satisfied. Wilbur packed the leftovers into the mini-fridge under his desk. Nothing like a midnight snack, he thought.

"When are you all returning to San Fransokyo?" Wilbur inquired.

"Next week." Gogo replied. "Except Tadashi and Hiro. I suppose Baymax would stay, too. The doctor still hasn't given Tadashi his release form."

"Hey, the average recuperation time for a coma is a lot longer than this." Tadashi said. "I like Todayland. I don't mind spending another few weeks here."

"It's gonna be pretty boring without you guys." Wasabi reflected. "Including you, Wilbur. It's been great getting to know you."

"Ditto." Wilbur smiled at his friends, the feeling of loneliness long gone.

"There's something I've been wondering…" Tadashi told them. "That man at the café… who was he? You said he was an old baseball star, right?"

"You mean Mike?" Wilbur thought about telling them about his adventure with Lewis. "Yeah, what about him?"

"When he saw Baymax, he assumed it was invented by someone named Lewis…" Tadashi scratched his chin. "Who is Lewis?"

"That's…my dad. He and Mike were roommates at the orphanage when they were kids, and before my dad was adopted, his name was Lewis. Mike still calls him that." Wilbur said. "He's the guy who got me interested in baseball."

"And the Lewis that you said was your best friend…" Tadashi continued. "You said you'd lost him over a year ago."

Wilbur sighed. "My friend Lewis and Mike's friend Lewis are the same person. Over a year ago, someone stole one of my father's time machines, and I had to go back in time with the other time machine to stop that person, as he was targeting the younger version of my father, Lewis. He changed his name when he was adopted. Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned and I almost disappeared forever, but in the end, Lewis saved the space time continuum and we became friends. But he had to return to his own time so that he could become the person he is now. And that's how I gained and lost my best friend within a day." He explained in one breath.

They stared at him for a moment, as if waiting for him to say he was kidding.

"Your dad built a time machine?" Fred finally asked.

"Two, actually. But no one knows that. It's a secret." Wilbur received several nods and pinky promises.

"That is the coolest thing ever." Fred told him.

"So…" Wasabi picked up the lightsabers. "Anyone up for an epic Star Wars reenactment in the gym?"

"You know it!" Wilbur hopped out of his chair and raised everyone else down the stairs.

"I thought we had to test them first!" Tadashi called breathlessly.

"We will be testing them! The gym's got much less expensive equipment than the lab!" Wilbur called behind him, in the lead. But not for long. Gogo was right on his heels. She and Wilbur were head to head. The gym entrance was a sprint away. They both reached out a hand. But Wilbur was an instant too late. Gogo slapped the door first.

"Not bad, kid." She said, shaking his hand before striding into the room.

"One day, I might beat you." Wilbur slumped into a chair to catch his breath.

"Phew…" Wasabi and the others caught up to them, gasping for breath. "Next time, it'll be the two of you, and we'll just watch."

* * *

Hiro collapsed into a chair next to his brother. "I am so bored." He let his head fall onto the table dramatically.

"You could read a book." Tadashi suggested, without taking his eyes off the pages in front of him.

"And look like an egghead?" Hiro turned his head toward him with a grimace. "No thanks."

"I'm an egghead?" Tadashi raised an eyebrow as he turned a page.

"You've spent the last two weeks in here in the library, reading." Hiro picked up his head and rested it in his hand. "It's gotten so boring without Wasabi and the others."

"I haven't been here the whole time." Tadashi wrote something down in a notebook.

"Working out in the gym and sleeping. That's all you've been doing."

"I'm pretty sure I ate at some point, too." Tadashi picked up a different book, and turned to the first page. "You could always hang out with Baymax."

"And listen to how sick every single movie is?" Hiro leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms.

"You brought that upon yourself."

Hiro exhaled exasperatedly. "If Wilbur didn't have school and baseball and his expo project, I wouldn't mind so much."

"Wilbur's keeping busy. Weren't you supposed to be doing classwork online?" Tadashi pulled out his laptop and began typing his notes up.

"That takes, like, five minutes out of my whole day."

"Don't exaggerate."

They were quiet for a few minutes.

"We can't even leave the house without Wilbur." Hiro continued.

"That's because we'd get lost." Tadashi reminded him. "And I'm not quite fit enough to go anywhere without someone who knows the area." He turned a page of one of the several books he now had open. "Why don't you explore the house? Even I haven't seen it all."

"That's 'cause you won't use the transport tubes. I did all my exploring within a week of the others leaving. I've seen every corner of the house but door twins hovels."

"Hovels?"

"I'm pretty sure they live underneath the porch."

"Interesting."

"You know what else would be interesting?"

"Wilbur has a baseball game on Friday." Tadashi said, ignoring Hiro's question.

"He does? He didn't tell me that." Despite having met Wilbur less than a month ago, Hiro thought Wilbur would have told him what was going on in his life.

"Cornelius invited us. Apparently it's their biggest game of the season. Against their rivals." Tadashi closed several books and set them aside. Dust puffed out of one and Hiro sneezed.

"Why are these books so dusty?" Hiro asked before blowing his nose in a tissue.

"Not many people come in here. It was built for Cornelius when he was young, so it's mostly full of books that would interest him. They only started collecting fiction books when Wilbur was born. His books are over there." Tadashi jabbed his thumb at the shelves behind him. "He's got some comic books you might like. And he's a big fan of manga."

Hiro sighed. "Fine, I'll read a book."

Tadashi smirked as Hiro slumped over to the books he'd indicated.

* * *

"That was amazing, Wilbur!" Tadashi nearly tackled his honorary brother with a hug.

"I can't believe you pulled that off!" Hiro joined the hug, sandwiching Wilbur between them.

"I just slid into home base. No big deal." Wilbur managed to say.

"With barely a second left on the clock! No one else would've made it! You won the game!" Tadashi exclaimed.

"Thanks, guys. But my team won the game."

The Hamadas rolled their eyes at Wilbur's modesty, but said nothing. They merely dragged him into the car to have a celebration dinner at Yagoobian's.

On the way there, Wilbur became more and more distant, as though his mind were somewhere else. Tadashi tried to figure out what was wrong, but all he could think of was that he and Hiro would be leaving for San Fransokyo in two days. He glanced at Wilbur out of the corner of his eyes, and was shocked to see a tear running down his cheek.

"Wilbur," Tadashi whispered under the music Franny was playing. "What's wrong?"

Wilbur looked at him and quickly wiped away the tear. "Nothing."

"Don't tell me nothing, Will." Tadashi leaned closer. "You don't cry for nothing."

Wilbur took a deep breath. "That was my last baseball game."

Tadashi stared at him. "What about college?"

"I'll play, if I get in."

"You will get in, Wilbur." Hiro told him. Tadashi was surprised for a moment that'd he'd overheard them.

"If this was your last game, then shouldn't you be celebrating with your team?" Tadashi asked curiously.

Wilbur shrugged. "They don't really like me."

"You worked so well together on the field though!" Tadashi placed a hand on Wilbur's shoulder.

"They know I'm good, so they don't pick on me or anything. I just… they don't really talk to me outside of practice and the games."

Cornelius parallel parked outside of Yagoobian's, and they climbed out of the car. As they entered the café, Tadashi pulled Wilbur aside.

"Will, college will be a lot different. Everyone at SFIT will think you're brilliant and talented. And you'll make way more friends than you thought was possible."

Wilbur smiled at him. There was still a little sadness, but Tadashi could see some of the light returning.

"Thanks, Tadashi."

Tadashi returned his smile. "Now come on. I want some egg rolls."

* * *

"Welcome to San Fransokyo Airport." Said a female voice over the intercom. "Please pick up your baggage on your left."

"Woah…" Wilbur wished he had 360 degree vision. He didn't know where to look. Already, San Fransokyo was way different than his hometown of Todayland. He couldn't believe he was actually here.

Two days ago, he had been sitting in Yagoobian's Corner café, eating egg rolls and hamburgers. His father had handed him a "Congratulations" card, and when he'd opened it, he found a plane ticket for the same flight as Hiro and Tadashi. He was going to spend three days in San Fransokyo with his brothers.

When they left the airport, Wilbur froze in shock. He'd always thought Todayland was a busy place, but this… this was a bustling metropolis. He quickly regained his composure and followed the Hamadas to Aunt Cass' car.

He stared out the window as she drove them to the Lucky Cat Café, trying to take in everything from the trolleys to the overhead trains to the floating wind turbines above the cities. Everything was incredible. He'd never seen Japanese and Western customs mixed together in such harmony. It seemed like San Fransokyo had created its own culture.

"We're here!" Aunt Cass parked outside her café. "Home, sweet home!"

"You live here?"

"There's an apartment in the top two floors." Tadashi explained as Aunt Cass unlocked the door. The boys grabbed all the luggage, including Baymax's case.

"Wow. That's like the historical district in Todayland. Mike lives above his café." Wilbur said.

"You'll be staying in our room with us." Hiro said. "Aunt Cass set up a cot for you. We'll get you an actual bed when you come to school."

"Thank you so much for letting me stay here." Wilbur said to Aunt Cass.

"Oh, come on! You're like family now!" Aunt Cass led them upstairs.

When they reached the attic bedroom, Hiro set down Baymax's case and pressed the release button. Baymax inflated and greeted them.

Wilbur looked around the room, at the desks and computer, the books and the dresser, the beds, the Japanese divider, the posters, the windows, the knick-knacks on the shelves. He took in everything.

Tadashi was also looking around the room, Wilbur noticed. Hiro was watching both of them.

"I'm home." Tadashi whispered. Then his face crumpled. He leaned back on the wall and slid to the floor, hugging his knees and trembling. Wilbur and Hiro were at his side in a moment.

"Hey, Nii-chan. It's alright." Hiro said.

"Yeah, everything's gonna be fine now." Wilbur set his hand on Tadashi's shoulder, just as Tadashi had done to him a few days ago.

"I just can't believe it." Tadashi mumbled. "I've been gone eight months, and in a coma for seven of that, but it feels like years."

"But it's over now. We're home, together." Hiro hugged his brother, and Tadashi returned the embrace burying his face in his little brother's shoulder. Wilbur started to back away, feeling like an intruder, but Baymax was right behind him. He bounced off the robot and onto Hiro and Tadashi.

"Ack!"

Wilbur pulled himself off of them and opened his mouth to apologize, but his words were lost to the Hamada's laughter. He couldn't help but laugh himself, and it quickly became hysterical.

"Boys! We're having guests over for dinner, so you all better shower and look decent! They'll be here in an hour!" Aunt Cass called from below.

"Guests?" Hiro shouted down the stairs. "What guests?"

"Who do you think I would invite over on the night you come home?!" Aunt Cass hollered. "Abraham?"

The three boys exchanged looks, and ran to their suitcases and started getting ready for what was definitely going to be an interesting night.


	14. New Beginnings on an Open Page

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The grand finale!

"Are you nervous?"

Wilbur turned to Tadashi next to him. Standing a few feet away were Gogo, Wasabi, Honey, Fred and Aunt Cass. His grandparents were further, studying a display about antimatter. Hiro was behind him, seemingly lost in his own thoughts as he gazed around the newly remodeled hall.

He quirked an eyebrow at Tadashi. "You asked me that five minutes ago. Do you really think my answer's changed?"

Tadashi smiled and reached his hand out. Wilbur swerved. "Whoa! There is no way you are messing up my hair right before I go on stage!"

"Hiro's was a mess when he went up there." Tadashi argued, receiving an elbow in the side from the shaggy haired teen.

"That's because I learned that brushing my hair is a pointless endeavor with you around."

Wilbur rolled his eyes at the two of them.

"I can't wait to see your project, Wilbur!" Honey cried, pulling him into a tight hug. The rest of their friends joined them. Aunt Cass had struck up a conversation with Wilbur's grandparents.

"Is your dad here?" Gogo asked before blowing her gum.

"Yeah, but he's with the other businessmen, looking at all the new tech. My mom is with him, too." Wilbur looked around at the displays set up throughout the large hall. He suddenly felt self-conscious. What if his project wasn't good enough?

"You'll do great." Hiro whispered, too low for anyone else to hear. "Trust me."

"I hope you're right." Wilbur said. "Are you doing okay? I know this whole thing brings back bad memories."

"I'm fine." Hiro shifted his weight and glanced around. "They redesigned the inside of the building, so it's not exactly the same as a year ago. Besides, I'm pretty sure something like that isn't going to happen again."

Wilbur nodded. "Good point."

"What are you two talking about?" Tadashi turned back to them from the tech display he'd been admiring.

"Nerves." Hiro lied. "Will's got a lot of them." Tadashi turned to Wilbur, who shot a death glare at Hiro.

"I'm fine. Really." Wilbur said.

"That's what I told my aunt before I went up on stage." Tadashi crossed his arms. "I was lying."

"Okay! I'm nervous." Wilbur finally conceded.

"The next presenter will be Wilbur Robinson." Said a man on the speakers.

"You're up."

"Good luck, Wilbur!"

"You can do it, bro."

Wilbur accepted their words of encouragement, and stepped onto the stage. "Hello." Wilbur said nervously into the microphone. He noticed his father in the audience, alongside Tadashi and Hiro. Courage suddenly filled him. "My name is Wilbur Robinson, and I've been working on solving a pretty common problem."

He took a deep breath. "And that problem is storage. Everyone has things that they can't find space for, no matter how big their closets and garages or labs are." He received several smiles from the audience. "My invention solves that problem by giving us access to new pocket dimensions."

Next to his father, Wilbur saw Krei's eyebrows rise, and he knew that he'd sparked the man's interest.

"For those of you who don't know, pocket dimensions are small spaces of an alternate dimension. They've been theorized on for centuries, but they're existence has never been proven. Until today, that is." Wilbur pulled out a small, cube-shaped box above that fit in the palm of his hand. "In this box, I have what I like to call a DISC, or a Dimensional Item Storage Cube. It's a portal to a pocket dimension." Wilbur opened the box and held up the actual cube. "For this demonstration, I'm going to use an apple."

All eyes were on him as he unclipped a tiny circular pad from the cube, and tossed it on the floor, it expanded to a one foot diameter. "This pad will scan whatever item you want it to. It'll even grow bigger depending on the size of the object." Wilbur placed an apple on the pad. "All I have to do is initiate the scanning sequence, and…" He held the cube out towards the pad, and a moment later, the apple was sucked into the opening on the top of the cube.

There were several "oohs" and "aahs".

"Of course, one way train tickets to nowhere are pretty pointless, so there's also a quick and easy way to retrieve items." He tapped the cube, and it projected a screen displaying an apple and a packet of gummie bears. "Ah, that's where my snack went!" The audience laughed. He touched the image of the gummie bears and a moment later, the packet appeared on the transfer pad. There was applause as Wilbur bowed. "Thank you very much." He collected his things and hopped off the stage.

The moment he hit the ground, he was tackled by Tadashi and Hiro.

"That was awesome!" Hiro shouted.

"They loved you!" Tadashi said, hugging him.

"It was brilliant." Wilbur looked up his father, who was positively beaming. Wilbur grinned and ran into his father's waiting arms. "I'm happy for you, Will." They pulled apart.

"I couldn't have done it without you." At his father's puzzled expression, Wilbur explained. "I got the idea when you were cleaning up the lab."

Cornelius Robinson laughed. "Glad I could be of some help."

"Wilbur Robinson," They all turned to a well-dressed man, who Wilbur recognized as Professor Ivan Gordon, Callaghan's replacement. "A pleasure to meet you." Wilbur shook his hand. "I'd like to congratulate you on your brilliant invention, and give you this." He handed the Wilbur a sealed envelope. "Term starts in a few weeks. See you then." He waved as he walked away.

Mr. Krei walked up just then, and Wilbur noticed the Hamada brothers stiffen.

"Congratulations, Wilbur!" Mr. Krei shook Wilbur's hand. "You've got quite a mind there, to create something as amazing as you storage cube." He nodded at Cornelius. "You may even have more talent than your old man."

"Old? Who are you calling old?" Cornelius crossed his arms at the man. "If I'm old then you're ancient."

Krei laughed. "I've got to get going, but I want you to know if you ever need anything, you know where to find me. Good luck at SFIT!" He said farewell to them all, and strode away, his secretary at his heels.

"I thought he was going to offer to buy the DISC." Hiro said.

"What?" Wilbur glanced at him. "Why would he do that?"

"It's what he wanted to do with my microbots."

"Oh." Wilbur paused. "I'm the heir to Robinson Industries. Krei would never do anything to sabotage his biggest partner company. He'd lose all his other partners if he pissed off my dad."

Aunt Cass cleared her throat then. "I say this calls for a celebration with hot wings!"

"YES!" Fred cheered.

"The kind that melt your face off?" Tadashi inquired.

"What other kind is there?" Hiro took Wilbur by the arm and dragged him towards the doors.

They burst out of the building, talking and laughing, and piling into their cars to head for the café. Wilbur rode in Wasabi's SUV, between Tadashi and Hiro. It wasn't a long drive, even with Wasabi driving below the speed limit. When they arrived upstairs, Aunt Cass already had the stove going. Wilbur's mother and grandmother were helping her.

"Where are you going to be staying during the school year, Wilbur?" Grandpa Bud asked.

"He'll be staying with us." Hiro said. "We've got space for him in our room." Wilbur knew that wasn't entirely true, but Hiro, Tadashi and Aunt Cass had all insisted that he stay with them. He was fine with it, too. It made him feel like he was really part of their family.

Honey Lemon passed out drinks to everyone. "Did they give you your own personal lab like Hiro and Tadashi?"

"Actually, he'll be sharing that with us, too." Tadashi told her. "I worked it out with Professor Gordon."

"It's going to be awesome!" Fred cheered. He helped Aunt Cass make plates for everyone. "Can you build me a shrink ray?"

"That's purely science-fiction." Wilbur told him for the twelfth time.

"What about-"

"No, Fred." Wasabi interrupted. "Just stop."

"I hope you've all got a glass of water with you!" Franny shouted, setting a large plate of hot chicken wings on the counter. "You're gonna need it!"

"Aaaaaaaaaah!" Fred grabbed his water and chugged it down. But even that didn't seem to satisfy his burning mouth. Tadashi offered him his own glass. He finally managed to cool down.

"You alright?" Hiro asked.

Fred took a deep breath.

"They're hot."

* * *

"Hurry up! I wanna see!" Honey Lemon squealed.

"This is going to be so awesome!" Fred could hardly hold back his excitement.

"Can you two chill? You're making them nervous." Wasabi told the two.

"Woman up, Wasabi." Gogo blew a bubble of gum, and allowed it to pop in Wasabi's face.

"I will cut you with my laser blades, woman."

"You'll have to catch me first."

"She's got a point there." Hiro commented.

"Hiro! Stop getting distracted and show us your new suit!" Wasabi ordered playfully.

Hiro shrugged and turned to Tadashi. "Age before beauty."

"I'm four years older than you. Don't get cocky." Tadashi lowered his helmet's visor so that it hid his face. His armor was similar to Hiro's, but was black and red rather than purple and red.

"You have a building named after you. I'm pretty sure that makes you ancient."

Tadashi rolled his eyes before he realized that Hiro couldn't see his face. Feeling any comeback would now be too late, he pressed a button on his wrist, and felt himself begin to vibrate rapidly. He was accustomed to the feeling, which had at first left him feeling nauseous and disoriented.

"Woah!" Fred exclaimed.

"You're invisible!" Honey Lemon clapped her hands in excitement.

Even Gogo had an expression an awe.

Tadashi pressed the button again, and became visible once more.

"How exactly does that work?" Wasabi asked.

"It's pretty simple." Tadashi said. "When moves at a fast speed, it appears blurry. The faster it goes, the blurrier it gets, until it's completely unseen by the naked eye. By constantly vibrating at extreme speeds, I can appear invisible to the human eye. I'm still there, and a high-quality camera could pick me up if you froze the frame, but I'm moving too fast for the brain to process it."

"So you really could make an invisible sandwich!" Fred said.

Tadashi slid his visor up. "I'm not making you an invisible sandwich.

By this point, Gogo had regained her passive face. "Hiro's up."

"What did you add, Hiro?" Honey Lemon asked.

"Nothing as cool as invisibility." Hiro stepped forward and aimed his new wrist laser at a metal target a few meters away. He released a bolt, and blasted the target to bits. "Just a laser gun. It's got three settings. Stun, K.O., and you-pissed-me-off."

"Which we won't be using on people." Tadashi warned.

"Right. Just the building next to them so they wet themselves." Fred replied. Everyone laughed as Tadashi face-palmed.

"Wilbur? What does your suit do?" Honey Lemon smiled at him expectantly.

"I played off my pocket dimension portals." Wilbur said. His suit was sky blue and bright yellow, the colors of Robinson Industries. He pulled out a small, round blue capsule. "I throw this at my opponent." He tossed it to another target.

The others stood there in confusion.

"Nothing happened." Gogo commented.

"And that's what will catch my opponent off-guard." Wilbur pressed a button on his wrist. The capsule opened at the top and sucked the target inside. "It can trap things, and people, inside."

"Woah! It's like a PokeBall!" Fred picked up the capsule and studied it.

"What's a PokeBall?" Gogo inquired.

"Nothing. I meant…never mind." Fred handed the capsule to Wilbur.

* * *

A few hours later, Wilbur, Tadashi and Hiro were driving home. Wilbur's father had bought him a moped similar to Tadashi's so that he could get to and from school, as they didn't all three fit on Tadashi's.

They each grabbed plates from the the counter that Aunt Cass, who had gone out for the night, had left for them, and climbed the stairs to their bedroom.

The attic bedroom had changed quite a bit. With the addition of another bed, dresser, and nightstand, the whole room's configuration had needed changing.

Tadashi's side of the room had stayed very much the same, with his desk, bookshelves, and desk-sized touch screen computer all on the other side of the bathroom. There wasn't enough space to split the room into thirds, so they'd traded Hiro's bed for a bunk bed. Hiro had wanted the top, of course, and they both had privacy curtains. There was also desk with dual-screen computers on each side of the bunk bed, along with a bookshelf to hold their belongings. Their dressers stood next to the staircase, side by side.

Wilbur had grown accustomed to the small space, though his own bedroom at home was twice as big as the attic room he and his honorary brothers lived in. He never complained, as he knew he was lucky to be there.

Tadashi was at his desk, out of view from the bunk bed's vantage point. Hiro and Wilbur were watching a movie on Hiro's computer, munching on popcorn. As the credits began to roll, Tadashi emerged from behind the divider screen.

"It's getting late. We should all get to sleep." He yawned.

"Yeah, you're right." Wilbur agreed. Hiro turned off his computer screen reluctantly. Wilbur wondered how much sleep Hiro had been getting before Tadashi returned. He decided he didn't want to know.

Crawling into his bed, Wilbur recalled the events of the past two and a half years of his life, from the moment he'd left the garage door open and seen the bowler-hat guy steal the time machine to now. He couldn't believe how far he'd come. He was attending the best school in the country, playing for the best baseball team in the Western United States, and had the best friends in the world. It was amazing.

He'd learned so much these past few months about so many things. About friendship, family, love, and quite a bit about himself. But the two things that had stuck with him the most he'd written on the underside of Hiro's bed, so that he could read it just before he fell asleep every night.

He read the words for the hundredth time, and closed his eyes with a smile on his face.

It read:

_Find a new angle, and keep moving forward._


End file.
